Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1986. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - January 30, 1986
In what was described as "initial policy" on the issue, however, Mr. Weinberger did conclude that any dependent and any civilian employee stationed overseas who wished to take the test voluntarily may do so because "it is still essential that we do all we can to avoid any increase in this disease."
Under an earlier directive, Mr. Weinberger already had ordered mandatory blood tests for all active-duty personnel and recruits.
Mr. Weinberger's decision is contained in a two-page memorandum released today at the Pentagon. The memorandum, dated Jan. 22, was sent to the secretaries of each of the military services.
There are roughly 2.9 million dependents of active-duty personnel who are entitled to medical care from the Defense Department and who would be covered by the new voluntary policy.
The Defense Department also employs more than a million civilian workers, but only about 97,000 of them are based overseas.
AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, is a fatal disease that attacks the body's immune system. It has been confined primarily to homosexuals, intravenous drug users and individuals who received tainted blood transfusions, although there is some evidence the disease is spreading to the general population.
The blood screen employed by the Pentagon can do no more than indicate a person has been exposed to a virus associated with the disease, not whether the person actually will contract it. Nonetheless, the screen has been embraced by the Defense Department as the only tool now available to chart the course of the disease.
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