Army meatballs and red wine

I joked with Colleen that this blog should become a wine and beer tasting blog in January... I know that's potentially a bad joke give the association between redeployment and alcohol abuse, but I have to admit that a glass of some big juicy Cabernet sounds amazing-- especially Mondays, which is pasta and meatball night here.

This is good news if you like red wine and you're a smoker:

A study from Kaiser Permanente researchers published today found a strong link between red wine consumption and a decreased risk of lung cancer in men. The researchers studied 84,170 men ages 45 to 69 who were part of the California Men's Health Study. They found lung cancer risk is lowered an average of 2% for each glass of red wine consumed per month. The greatest risk reduction was found among men who smoked and who drank one or two glasses of red wine per day. They had a whopping 60% reduced risk.

The only things I've had in the last three months that have been remotely alcoholic have been one overripe banana and one can of non-alcoholic Heineken. However, I know that Army personnel occasionally get busted on the FOB for alcohol possession-- they get vodka from the Afghans who work on the post. This is a Muslim country, but apparently in addition to opium, heroin, and marijuana, there is readily available alcohol as well. Maybe I'm naive but I've been surprised that both drug and alcohol use is as common as it is here.

What's funny (and vaguely related to the rest of this entry) is that if you smoke opium and get caught you will be sent home faster than you will if you charge your rifle and shoot it at another Soldier (and miss). Is that funny?

Yes, sometimes I feel like I am stuck in a penal colony.

That could lead to another entry about Army recruiting, but I'll stop now.