May 31, 2019
HIV/AIDS in the Military
Chapters 31 and 33 of Title 10, U.S. Code, provide broad
authority to the Department of Defense (DOD) to establish
certain accession and retention standards for
servicemembers. These standards set minimum thresholds
in areas such as educational aptitude, physical fitness, and
medical fitness that must be met for an individual to enter
military service.
DOD policies establish the medical fitness standards
required to enter, or be retained, in the Armed Forces. In
certain instances, applicants or current servicemembers may
develop, present with, or have a history of a medical
condition or physical defect that would be disqualifying for
entry into or continued military service.
There are approximately 434 disqualifying medical
conditions, including a human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV) infection. While DOD policy prohibits the accession
of any applicant who tests positive for HIV, current
servicemembers who become infected may continue to
serve.
HIV/AIDS in the Military
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) describes HIV as a chronic viral infection that
attacks an individual’s immune system. HIV can be
transmitted when certain of one’s bodily fluids (e.g., semen,
blood, breast milk) are injected into the blood stream or
come into contact with mucus membrane or damaged tissue
of another. Untreated HIV infections can lead to Acquired
Immunodeficiency Disease Syndrome (AIDS). DOD’s
Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center estimates that
there are approximately 350 servicemembers diagnosed
with HIV annually. The rate of newly diagnosed HIV
infections among servicemembers tested (also called the
seroprevalence rate) in 2017 was 23 per 100,000. This rate
is lower when compared to the general U.S. population,
ages 20-34. Figure 1 illustrates trends in HIV incidence
rates in the military since 1990.
Across the active components, the seroprevalence rate (per
100,000 servicemembers) in 2017 was highest in the Navy
(30), followed by the Army and Air Force (17), and the
Marine Corps (15). Among the reserve components, the
seroprevalence rate was highest in the Army Reserve (38),
followed by the Army National Guard and Marine Corps
Reserve (32), Navy Reserve (23), Air Force Reserve (17),
and Air National Guard (10).
Entry into Military Service
In general, DOD policies prohibit applicants with
laboratory evidence of HIV infection (i.e., HIV+) from
entering military service. All applicants typically undergo a
comprehensive medical examination, including HIV
screening, at a military entrance processing station or
military treatment facility (MTF). For applicants to the U.S.
Service Academies, the Uniformed Services University of
the Health Sciences, or other officer candidate programs,
HIV screenings are conducted within 72 hours of arrival at
the training site. Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC)
cadets and midshipmen must be tested prior to the
program’s commencement.
Figure 1. Rates of New HIV Diagnoses Among Servicemembers, 1990-2017
Source: Department Health Agency, Medical Surveillance Monthly Report, “Review of the U.S. Military’s Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Program: a Legacy of Progress and Future of Promise,” Vol. 25, No. 9, September 2018, https://go.usa.gov/xmQ6z.
Notes:
*
Data is through June 30, 2017. Includes active and reserve component members.
