In the meanwhile, the DOD’s rollout of its policy change has not been smooth. Lambda and Wilkins are now suing to repeal this last piece. However, civilians with an undetectable viral load are still not allowed to enlist. Current military personnel with an undetectable viral load can no longer be denied the opportunity to deploy or to commission based on HIV status.
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Constitution, forcing DOD to update its policy in June 2022. A federal judge found that this part of the policy was in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Previously, the roughly 2,000 service members living with HIV (SMLWH) were banned from deploying or commissioning as officers, effectively stunting their military careers. In April, it won a class-action lawsuit against DOD forcing it to change part of its HIV policy. This isn’t Lambda Legal’s first fight against the military’s HIV policy. 10, 2022, Lambda Legal, a legal organization focused on LGBTQ+ civil rights, filed a class-action lawsuit against DOD over its policy banning civilians living with HIV from joining the military. Additionally, he is expected to pay back $16,427.42 to the government, because he only completed three of his eight years of his service commitment before being discharged.ĭespite the ban, Wilkins has not given up on his dream. At his exit screening from the Army, Wilkins was diagnosed with a combination of anxiety and depression, which he attributes to his discharge.
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That means there’s no record of the number of people who have intent to enlist but don’t even try because they know there’s no point, due to Department of Defense (DOD) policies.Īnd those policies cost more to those rejected than a professional opportunity. Living with HIV automatically disqualifies a person from joining the armed forces.
He had made it out of his small, rural Georgia town and was going to attend West Point and serve his country. As part of the agreement, he signed an additional one-year contract with the Army as a new enlistment. The famed military academy accepted him into its prep school, a one-year program to sharpen his academics, before matriculating into the four-year academy as a freshman. He enrolled in Georgia Military College (GMC) and took out a loan contingent upon him completing eight years of military service.Īfter two years, he performed so well at GMC that West Point took notice. The military, he thought, would be his way out.īy age 17, Wilkins dropped out of high school, earned his GED, and enlisted in the Georgia Army National Guard.
He also knew that he was gay and that Temple was no place for a gay man. He dreamed of flying the aircraft that would land on a battlefield and help save another soldier’s life. By the time he was a teenager, Isaiah knew he wanted to become a Blackhawk helicopter pilot in the Army.
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