With less than two weeks left before his retirement, SGT Nick Harrison reported to the Senate Armed Services Committee that the military’s personnel chiefs continue to defy the orders of both a U.S. District Court Judge and the U.S. Secretary of Defense, violate the rights of 2,000 of his fellow servicemembers, and disregard their oaths to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution.
In April of 2022, Harrison won a lawsuit where the Court struck down the military’s outdated and discriminatory HIV policies. He was initially scheduled to ETS in July. However, the Justice Department insisted that he needed to extend his enlistment for another six months in order for them to carry out the Court’s order and make things right. So, he begrudgingly signed the required paperwork and waited.
Yet, nine months after the Court’s decision, nothing has changed. The military’s personnel chiefs continue to act like the policies which were struck down earlier this year remain in full force and effect. No action officer is being appointed to implement the court’s order and no plans are being made to update the applicable regulations. HIV+ servicemembers who have reache3d out to headquarters have been told that “even though the policy has changed, the policy remains the same.”
SGT Harrison’s letter to the Senate Armed Services Committee can be found here:
https://harrison-stein.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Senate-Letter.pdf
