American Notes MILITARY

As alarm over AIDS has spread, some in the Pentagon have been urging outright dismissal from the service of anyone who tests positive for the AIDS virus. Instead, the Defense Department last week reaffirmed a 1985 policy that gives supervisors the authority to remove infected individuals from a wide variety of duties, including flight status and other tasks requiring a high degree of stability or alertness.

Defense aides described the policy as a "codification" of past practices. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs William Mayer said the military would continue to reject volunteers carrying the infection, but will not view the disease as a basis for disciplinary action.