First Lt. Robert Blume, the physician assistant for 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team "Rakkasans," 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), inserts a thin gold needle through a U.S. civilian contractor’s ear during a battlefield acupuncture session on Combat Outpost Champkani, Afghanistan, Jan. 27, 2013. Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese technique that was brought into the military in 2001. (U.S. photo by Spc. Brian Smith-Dutton Task Force 3/101 Public Affairs)