Posted on Nov 28, 2015
MAJ Senior Observer   Controller/Trainer
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A Soldier assigned to the Army Physical Disability Agency alleges that his Commander compiled and distributed a list of HIV-Positive Soldiers. Under the current guidelines of the Army HIV Program, a Soldier's HIV-Positive status has been kept extremely confidential. How is a Soldier's Positive HIV status revealed to his or her Chain of Command and how is it reported to gaining units as that Soldier moves throughout the Army? What is the likely fallout from the dissemination of this very personal health information?

http://www.towleroad.com/2015/11/army-hiv-positive/
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Edited 9 y ago
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Responses: 8
LTC Program Manager
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I had an HIV Soldier under my command. I was informed I couldn't even tell my 1SG why the Soldier couldn't deploy, just that he couldn't.

In my opinion HIV troops should be medically separated unless the Army is in short supply of their skill set. HIV Soldiers will never recover or be able to deploy, yet they take up a slot that could be used to stabilize a deployable Soldier.
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LTC Program Manager
LTC (Join to see)
9 y
I started with the assumption that they will never be deployable, and they probably won't be (just judging on other conditions that make you non deployable). In my opinion, in a time of downsizing the folks with non deployable profiles that they will not recover from should be separated from the service to make room.

Prior to having this soldier I was not aware of how few systems this condition has when treated. Other than having a code that prevented deployment or being told, I would never have known there was an issue.
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SGM Erik Marquez
SGM Erik Marquez
9 y
Deployment is only one aspect, yet on that alone, in an era of downsizing, they, like any other non deployable SM should be the first to be separated.
HIV is a communicable disease.. Service members in daily training at starting at PT on to Motor pool tasks, most any tasked duty during the day to filed training and yes deployment put all of the SM near that HIV positive SM at risk. Even with the best intentions and stellar attention to their condition, the HIV+ SM does not control the environment they move in. If this were a civilian corporation that knowingly put an HIV+ employee in daily physical contact where scrapes, cuts and worse are expected as part of the normal routine. That corporation would be in for a huge lawsuit should a fellow employee contract the dieses though blood contact of an infected employee. Why do we care less about our service men and women.
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Col Kyle Taylor
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As a commander, I never received any medical information about anyone who served with me. That said, when deployed, we had name tags with our blood type on them so that if needed, we could receive someone's blood in an emergency. Hopefully no one with any blood issues ever is wearing a tag with their blood type and fails to notify others if their blood type is needed in an emergency.
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Cpl Jeff N.
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I suspect a soldier with HIV/AIDS in non deployable as they have a life threatening disease and likely require a fair amount of medical treatment. The disease is also pretty communicable. I am not sure why someone with this disease would remain on active duty or in the reserve or NG components. There is a related post about the SMA calling out the 50,000 or so "nondeployable" soldiers in Army. I suspect this guy is one of them. I am not sure why those around him should not know he has an incurable, communicable disease. Where do his rights end and others safety and well being begin?
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