Officially, the Department of Defense has ended a policy from 1980s that prevented HIV-positive military personnel from being deployed overseas or from being promoted to leadership and management roles.
According to Lloyd Austin’s memo to military leaders, the updated guidance went into effect Monday. A judge revoked the decades-old policy in April.
U.S District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that the Pentagon’s definition of HIV as a chronic disease was inaccurate. This is despite the fact that modern scientific understandings of HIV are not supported by the classification.
Brinkema issued two orders that prohibited the Pentagon from “separating” or discharging HIV-positive service personnel with undetectable viral loads. This was solely because they were HIV-positive.
Three men sued the military in these two cases for discrimination due to their HIV status. Sgt. Nick Harrison, a plaintiff, was denied a promotion due to his HIV status. He called the Pentagon’s reversal “generally positive” but claimed it only came after advocates had to resort to “kicking & screaming” in court.
He said, “I would love to see them move further.” “At this stage, the judge is telling them what to do. They have a lot of room to do more.
Kara Ingelhart is a senior lawyer at Lambda Legal who represented the plaintiffs. She said that the move was “perfectly logical, both from a science and medical stigma standpoint but also from a policy standpoint.”
She stated that “the fact that the military [which] is not the country’s largest employer, will no longer have the ability to categorically treat the HIV-positive service members differently from other people, it’s huge.”
No other employer than the U.S. Military has been allowed to discriminate against HIV-positive employees since the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. The memo Monday noted that the policy amendment does NOT change the current Pentagon policy which prohibits HIV-positive individuals from enlisting in the military.
The memo states that those who have HIV-positive status and are currently serving will be evaluated individually. They will also receive access to appropriate treatment and a medical evaluation to determine if they are fit to continue service.
However, they will not be discharged solely on the basis of their HIV status. According to the memo, military leaders will form a working group to develop standards for case-by-case assessments. This will include determining how long service members must have an undetectable virus load and remain symptom-free.
The Human Rights Campaign is the largest LGBTQ advocacy group in the country. It has called for policy reversal since its inception. This was one of 85 recommendations that the group submitted to the Biden administration in November 2020.
David Stacy, the campaign’s government affairs director, stated in a press release that “Research has proven for years now antiretroviral treatment is highly effective in decreasing the risk of HIV transmission. It’s almost zero.” We are glad that our military leaders have recognized the unsustainable nature of a discriminatory policy towards service members with HIV.
Stacy said that the campaign would continue to push for the same policy to apply to those who wish to enlist.
He said, “This week’s announcement is a positive first step, but there are still people being discriminated against without good reasons, there’s still work that needs to be done.”
