Sailor Who Fought DNA Test Reinstated

The Navy has reinstated a sailor who was demoted and subjected to discharge proceedings after he objected on religious grounds to providing a sample of his DNA for a military databank. The reversal is being hailed by critics of the Pentagon’s DNA program as the first time a member of the armed forces has been formally granted an exemption from the obligation to surrender a genetic sample. But the sailor, Petty Officer 1st Class Donald P. Power, says his effort turned into a personal nightmare for which the Navy has only partially sought to compensate him.