The Nation - News from Oct. 29, 1985

The Pentagon, in a significant reversal, said it had not ruled out the dismissal of servicemen who acknowledge drug use or homosexual activity in the course of screening for exposure to AIDS. Such individuals can, in fact, incriminate themselves during medical interviews by physicians, a top legal official said. Individuals who inform doctors during medical screening that they have been abusing drugs or engaging in homosexual activity can be discharged even if they do not show evidence of the disease, but they must be given an honorable discharge, added Pentagon spokesman Bob Gilliat. “There is no absolute privilege there (of confidentiality) and the information can be passed along (for discharge proceedings),” Gilliat said. “It would be a non-stigmatizing discharge, but it can happen.”