void load(char const* buf)
{
unsigned long value = 0;
memcpy(&value, buf, sizeof(value));
}

void load(std::deque<char> const& buf)
{
unsigned long value = 0;
std::copy(buf.begin(), buf.begin() + sizeof(value),
    reinterpret_cast<char*>(&value));
}

void load(char const* buf)
{
unsigned short val1 = *reinterpret_cast<unsigned short const*>(buf);
buf += sizeof(unsigned short);
unsigned long val2 = *reinterpret_cast<unsigned long const*>(buf);
}


int main()
{
char* buf = new char[1000];
//.........
load(buf);
return 0;
}

7.20.3 Memory management functions
1. The pointer returned if the allocation
succeeds is suitably aligned so that it may be assigned to a pointer to any type of object
and then used to access such an object or an array of such objects in the space allocated
(until the space is explicitly deallocated).

_>void load(char const* buf)
_>{
_>unsigned short val1 = *reinterpret_cast<unsigned short const*>(buf);
_>buf += sizeof(unsigned short);
_>unsigned long val2 = *reinterpret_cast<unsigned long const*>(buf);
_>}


_>int main()
_>{
_>char* buf = new char[1000];
_>//.........
_>load(buf);
_>return 0;
_>}

_>

value = *reinterpret_cast<unsigned long *>(buf);

char* buf; // всегда выровнен.

long* p = new long; // выровнен 

p = reinterpret_cast<unsigned long *>(buf); // не всегда выровнен

GN>>Я разве утверждал, что нет

5.2.10/7 A pointer to an object can be explicitly converted to a pointer to an object of different type. Except that converting an rvalue of type “pointer to T1” to the type “pointer to T2” (where T1 and T2 are object types and where the alignment requirements of T2 are no stricter than those of T1) and back to its original type yields the original pointer value, the result of such a pointer conversion is unspecified.