People with HIV cannot be categorically barred from joining the military, judge rules
The ruling strikes down the last remaining policy preventing asymptomatic HIV-positive people from military enlistment, service and promotion.
Aug. 21, 2024, 3:08 PM EDT
By Brooke Sopelsa and Benjamin Ryan
Americans with well-treated HIV can no longer be barred from enlisting in the U.S. military, a federal judge ruled Thursday, striking down the Pentagon’s last remaining policy limiting the service of those with the virus.
“Defendants’ policies prohibiting the accession of asymptomatic HIV-positive individuals with undetectable viral loads into the military are irrational, arbitrary, and capricious. Even worse, they contribute to the ongoing stigma surrounding HIV-positive individuals while actively hampering the military’s own recruitment goals,” wrote Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
In her ruling, Brinkema mentioned her landmark 2022 decision that ended the Defense Department’s long-standing policy of forbidding service members who were diagnosed with HIV after enlisting from deploying in active duty outside the continental U.S. and being commissioned as officers.
https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/judge-rules-hiv-positive-americans-cannot-banned-military-service-rcna167557