Coming at this from the sleep deprivation angle.
Currently I am head hammer smasher in a factory.
Many times I have been called out, so woken from broken sleep after a long and stressful day.
Dressed, car, drive to work, work on live three phase equipment.
Drive home, back to sleep (yeah ok)
Alarm goes for the following day and back in to work.......
I feel far worse at this point than if I was we'll oiled.
yet there are no rules in law to protect me, working time directive included.
11 hrs daily rest is not opt out able yet if that eleven hrs is broken by a callout, or three in a night it is immaterial.
The only way to not be dead is to inform the management I am going for a nap for an hour on works time and only wake me if there is a major disaster,
Point being, NOBODY should be in work in an unfit state, whatever the job.
Th rules need to be set as such that should you have a glass or two with dinner then the limit for flying the following day will allow this, if that can't be achieved safely then no booze for you...
I also maintain that British military drinking culture is not big nor clever.
Call it what it is, alcoholism.
I had a chat with a fellow JellyTot once, we totted up his previous Friday score.
He was at twenty units before leaving the beer call.
Total for the evening was fifty three units........
Thats alcohol poisoning or cirrhosis of the liver and an early death.
Yet he was thought of by all as a top bloke because he could handle so much booze..........
Yes, enjoy a drink. Get wasted on occasion but if you can't go out and stop drinking or be sober all night then there is an issue.....
Oh, and I had a beer last night, very nice it was too.
That's three beers in a week for me, what a drinker.