Americans with well-treated HIV can no longer be barred from enlisting in the United States 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. “Modern science has transformed the treatment of HIV, and this Court has already ruled that asymptomatic HIV-positive service members with undetectable viral loads who maintain treatment are capable of performing all of their military duties, including worldwide deployment.
Now, defendants must allow similarly situated civilians seeking accession into the United States military to demonstrate the same and permit their enlistment, appointment, and induction,” she wrote. Research has shown that people with HIV who have an undetecta.