WESTPAC, AIDS, and the Navy

Abstract

By 1982, American sexual practices brought AIDS to the United States. Little has been done to control the spread of the disease short of using condoms. Military men have continued to consider the Far East as a sexual playground. As the HIV rate among the prostitutes peaked at 90% in Mombasa, Kenya, the port city was removed from the list approved for carriers for liberty calls. At Pattaya, the Philippines, the flourishing sex industry continues. Prostitution is tolerated in Thailand, where the availability of cheap sex invites many sex tours from Europe. This has led to a tremendous spread in HIV. Prostitutes who are affiliated with bars have a 20% HIV rate, while those who work "free lance" have a 70% rate. This leads the fleet to a much higher rate of exposure than in the United States. Public health departments use gonorrhea as a measure of the sexually transmitted disease prevalence in these countries. In Thailand some of the prostitutes suppress sexually transmitted diseases with prophylactic antibiotics, which lowers the incidence of venereal diseases. This indicator of STD incidence then falsely lowers the estimate of potential HIV carriers, giving a false sense of security. In recent years, the Navy has instituted a program based on family values, morals, and ethics. There are hours of Value-Based Training as well as Return and Reunion classes for the crew of battle group ships. Yet the fleet continues to go to ports like Pattaya and Phuket. Medicine is no longer able to cure any sexually acquired disease a crew member may contract that will kill their families. The Medical Corps must alert military personnel to the tremendous risk in highly endemic areas of contracting AIDS.