The Pentagon has ordered a pause on sending newly enlisted, HIV-positive applicants to initial military training while leaders consider whether to reinstate a prior enlistment ban. The move follows a federal appeals court's temporary stay of a 2024 ruling that had allowed asymptomatic, virally suppressed people with HIV to enlist. Advocates cite medical evidence that virally suppressed individuals can serve without compromising readiness; the Pentagon and DOJ say policy and readiness issues require review. A personnel decision is expected in the coming weeks.
Pentagon Pauses Training For HIV-Positive Recruits As Enlistment Ban Could Be Reinstated
An army recruiter waits for the next visitor after he gave a tour of a Humvee to fair goers at the Ocean County Fair in Bayville, New Jersey on July 10, 2024. - Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post/Getty Images/File
The Pentagon has directed the U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command to pause sending newly enlisted applicants who are HIV-positive to initial training while Defense Department leaders consider whether to reinstate a prior ban on their enlistment, according to guidance viewed by CNN.
The Office of the Secretary of Defense issued the pause after a federal appeals court temporarily stayed a 2024 lower-court ruling that had barred the military from rejecting applicants solely because they were asymptomatic and HIV-positive. The appeals court has not yet issued a final ruling, and the Pentagon’s Accession Policy and personnel offices are reviewing the matter; a decision from Defense personnel officials is expected in the coming weeks.
What the Guidance Says
An email distributed Friday directed processing officials: "While awaiting the decision, we are pausing shipping any HIV+ applicants and will follow-up in the coming weeks." The Pentagon referred questions about the move to the Department of Justice. It is not yet clear how many recruits who have already signed enlistment contracts may be affected by the pause.
Legal Background
In August 2024, a federal judge ruled that the military could not exclude new enlistees solely for being HIV-positive, noting that modern medicine has "transformed the treatment of HIV" and concluding that asymptomatic, virally suppressed service members are capable of performing all military duties, including worldwide deployment. That decision was issued after three people living with HIV were barred from joining or rejoining the military because of their diagnosis.
"This is a victory not only for me but for other people living with HIV who want to serve," plaintiff Isaiah Wilkins said after the 2024 ruling.
The government immediately appealed, and last month the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily stayed the lower-court ruling, allowing the Pentagon to pause shipments while the appeal proceeds.
Science, Policy And The Debate
Modern antiretroviral therapy can suppress HIV to undetectable levels. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people with a sustained undetectable viral load do not transmit the virus through sexual activity or syringe sharing, and the risk of transmission during pregnancy or childbirth is 1% or lower for those who are virally suppressed.
Advocates and legal counsel for plaintiffs have argued that allowing asymptomatic, virally suppressed people with HIV to enlist poses no detriment to military readiness. In court filings, however, the Department of Justice contended that the military "suffers harm" when required by court order to accept individuals who do not meet existing policy standards; the government’s argument has been criticized by advocates as describing a procedural, not a substantive, harm to readiness.
Policy Context
Under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon has tightened several eligibility rules for service members and recruits. Earlier actions by this administration included a ban on transgender service members and, in July, a memo listing medical conditions that require service-secretary waivers or are ineligible for waivers.
Separately, in 2022 then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revised policy to allow service members who are diagnosed with HIV while in uniform to continue serving, deploy, and commission as officers—changes that applied to those who test positive after enlistment but did not alter accession rules for prospective recruits.
Statistics And What’s Next
A Military Health System study published last year found 11,280 service members were diagnosed with HIV between 1990 and 2024 across active duty, National Guard, and reserve components. The overall rate of diagnoses declined over that period, although diagnoses increased among male service members under 30; men accounted for 96.3% of diagnoses in the study.
The Pentagon’s pause puts the question of accession policy back in focus: personnel officials could restore the previous ban, leave the existing policy in place, or adopt a revised approach. The legal appeal and internal Pentagon review will determine the next steps—and in the meantime, some newly enlisted recruits with HIV may be delayed from beginning training.
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