Can I ever recover from a DUI that I received about 5 years back?

Bottom line: CAN you? Yes. WILL you? To quote the Magic 8-ball, 'Outlook not so good'.

I'm going to play the odds here and assume that you were convicted off-post and the military DIDN'T slap you on the wrist and said "don't do it again".

Likely you received a GOMR and if you were a stellar Soldier before the DUI, it might have even been kept from being a permanent filing.

Additionally, you likely received (at least) an Article 15 as well as well as a bad NCOER for that period.

While all those things are from the same action (I know ... DUI - the gift that keeps on giving), it means it will (likely) show up in your AMHRR and be brought to the attention of the board multiple times.

IF you can show the board that you've turned your life around and have been a stellar NCO since that incident (i.e., a profile that screams "Most Qualified") then the odds are a bit in your favor, but if its not been a stand-out rating ... I'd make sure you have a good fall-back plan.

Your problem is that you have a big weight around your neck. A DUI by its very nature shouts out "I cannot make good decisions!" - the primary thing that we look from in our senior NCOs. It's not very likely that your file will be viewed favorably by the Selection Board unless you have something equally as strong to mitigate that view.

If in fact you were somehow able to avoid a GOMR, anything in your permanent file and didn't have it impact your NCOER ... you've lead a charmed life -- buy a PowerBall ticket and move on.

You can recover from it, you were obviously impacted, but the same drive and motivation that got you to SSG will carry over if you apply yourself, take care of your soldiers and set the standards within your organization.

What you cannot afford to do is walk around moping and feeling sorry for yourself. Lead the pack.

SSG (Join to see) Here is a previous post with information.

https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/how-will-a-dui-5-years-ago-affect-future-promotions-or-retention