This is why AA and some Cognitive Behavioral Therapy are required for alcoholics to keep them disciplined and on track. As an alcoholic, it takes a lot of work to think through the consequences of my actions. Even if I’m abstinent.
Even back in the 1980s, the military knew that once you were an alcoholic, it had to be assumed that the judgment center of your brain was damaged, and would remain so for six months after you stopped drinking. So I would guess that AA can’t really start to take effect until people have been dry for that long. After that, they can start to respond, for real.