westhawk -- totally agree, most people are not alcoholics, they just did something stupid. Mind you, drinking and flying/driving/surgery/heavy machinery/industrial plant is so obviously a 'no' and so dumb that you ask whether they are smart enough to be doing such a responsible job. Still, a career and job breaker for one mistake is probably too harsh? A long ban is stupid - all it does is to make their skills rusty.
Other than ground jobs, there are opportunities for simulator training and airborne flying instructor (daytime, regular hours) both of which should be fine for a abstinent so-called 'recovering alcoholic'. They need regular hours and meals, few stress triggers; not all 'hairy' events cause 'stress' indeed most 'stress' results from things you can't control and that drag on. Reduce temptation, so meals out and bars especially when alone or with boozy company letting their hair down is a bad idea. Plenty of good quality regular sleep is also good. In essence, that means a 9 to 5 kind of job, not an operational airline pilot whose life is exactly the opposite.
100% BAC testing of all flight crew makes a lot of sense. Takes all the guesswork out and home testers are very reliable and cheap so there's no reason why anyone would present with positive BAC. If they slip-up after a late drinks gathering, they can phone-in sick. Good for pilots, public and airlines.