New Trump HIV Military Ban

Last February the Trump administration unveiled new policies that would bar people living with HIV from serving in the military. The policy was outlined in a Department of Defense memo & described by Under Secretary of Defense for Personal Readiness Robert Wilkie as a “deploy or be removed policy” which the administration claims is meant to improve military readiness for deployment. The policy instructs the Pentagon to discharge any service member who is unable to be deployed outside of the country for more than 12 months. This new Department of Defense policy would result in the discharging service members living with HIV. Lambda Legal & OutServe-SLDN along with pro bono counsel from Winston & Strawn LLP filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in Harrison v. Mattis challenging the military’s discriminatory policies governing the enlistment, deployment & promotion of service members living with HIV. Sergeant Nick Harrison stated, “This case is not just about me. This is about every person living with HIV knowing that they can perform any job in the world, including serving in the military. Together, we must stop the Pentagon from closing its doors to successful & talented service members. I look forward to the day that I can serve my country to the full extent of my abilities, based on my performance & unfettered by unfounded fears and misperceptions about HIV.” An estimated 1,200 people living with HIV currently serve in our military. Like the recent attempts to bar transgender individuals from military service this latest discriminatory decision is rooted in prejudice & the politics of division. This horrendous “deploy or be removed policy” is scheduled to go into effect in October 2018.
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