European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 27, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 the stars and stripes monday february 27,1989 his hotel sets infected gis apart one Soldier fled special aids Wing by Laurie Garrett new Day fort Hood Texas while friends looked on afraid to say anything pvt. John o. Brisbois packed his bags last october and left his Barracks with no intention of Ever coming Back. Brisbois said he left the army the Only career he had Ever wanted after he was demoted and fought three months of harassment be cause he tested positive for the virus that causes aids. The army did everything possible to make meant to leave said Brisbois who surrendered after three months tried to kill himself and was discharge two weeks ago. I feel i Don t have a future anymore. I Don t want to die but i get so  the 24-year-old former Soldier fled from a special Wing of a Barracks known throughout the base As the his hotel and the Leper Colony where he and a least 50 others were transferred. It is the armed forces first consolidated unit of soldiers infected with his. That move represents an escalation in the military Seattle against acquired immune deficiency syndrome. The War is being waged with weapons that already include mandatory his testing forced pledges to prac Tice Only Safe sex and courts martial of homosexuals weapons that generally have been ruled illegal in civil Ian society. "1 think gradually we Are seeing a pattern of More restrictions on what people infected with the aids virus can do said Kathy Gilbert of san Diego head of the military Law task Force of the National Law yers Guild. The military defends its policies arguing that such severity is needed to control the epidemic. The Rea son we have done what we have done said  Redfield of Rockville md., chief scientist for the army s aids research Effort is that we think it Good Medicine. And it s Medicine that might work in the civilian sector As  at Redfield s urging the department of defens began the world s largest mandatory his screening program in october 1985. Since then every recruit has been screened and those who test positive Are barred from the army Navy air Force and marines. Of the 5million soldiers and recruits who have been tested 6,000 on Active duty have shown up positive. Those already in any military Branch Are allowed to remain until they become too sick to work and Are allowed to continue their chosen military professions fable said Susan Hansen a department of defense spokeswoman in Washington. The policy is that individuals shall not be Sepa rated on the basis of their his status Hansen said adding that the department of defense discourages any form of discrimination. The Bottom line in terms of army policy is Readi Ness said it. Col. Greg Rickson an army spokesman at the Pentagon. Is army readiness affected by having an his Soldier in the ranks the commander has to weigh that  at fort Hood Home of Iii corps and the biggest tank and artillery Post in the world then commander it. Gen. Crosbie Saint exercised his prerogative an ordered his positive soldiers to be separated from their units. Saint now a four Star general commanding Sarteur argued that readiness for deployment to Europe in Case of War was More important than de sense department prohibitions against such segregation army officials at fort Hood said. A Usa eur spokesman had no comment on the Story sunday. Soldiers who test positive for the virus in Europe routinely Are sent Back to the states on april 15, 1988, about 50 soldiers who tested his positive were transferred to fort Hood s administrative Center housing a non combat unit. Most of themen transferred that Day also were lodged on the third floor of building 21006. I remember that Day clearly. How could i forge tit said a recently discharged his positive Soldier speaking on condition of anonymity. Everybody knew that we were the his you know. There was no confidentiality. None at All. It was like somebody put signs around our necks saying Here comes the aids patients " As part of the transfers Many like Brisbois were Given jobs requiring less training. Maj. James Small head of the infectious diseases department at fort Hood said about it was like somebody put signs around our necks saying Here comes the aids patients " a Soldier 50 of the 70 men who tested positive for his have Bee moved to building 21006. Some who Are married have been allowed to continue living off base. From the outside the building looks no different from any of the other Khaki Barracks dotting the 339 Square mile base where 38,000 soldiers live. Inside Security is unusually visible compared with that of the rest of the base. Sentries hastily summon superiors to deflect a reporter s questions about the special Wing on the third floor. Most soldiers refuse to even acknowledge they Are being questioned about the Wing. Some who will talk ask that conversations take place off base and that names be withheld for fear of reprisals. Everybody might be scared to say anything recently discharged Soldier said. You go through the article 15 disciplinary actions list and see How Many Are his. They Are giving out seven or eight article 15s a Day Over there. There s no morale Over  night when i was there someone was put on extra duty. We never could go out at  Small strongly denied those and similar allegations made by eight past or present residents of the Wing. We Don t have quarantine in the army he said adding that efforts Are made to keep soldiers on their career tracks and to administer top Quality medical care. Who has aids and who does t is the source of gossip in the building which also houses soldiers who have not tested positive said one Young Soldier fro the special Wing. Let s put it this Way it s a driving thought on everybody s mind he said adding that everybody knows or suspects who the his positive soldiers Are. When you re in the latrine said another an you hear somebody laying Down a Tarp in the Shower because they Don t want to get infected it Ain t easy being his positive that s enough to Deal with. It s that Blanket that sword that they put Over your head every single Day that s the hard thing to Deal  All of the soldiers said that morale on the base drastically worsened after the transfers were ordered. At least two his positive soldiers said they considered suicide. One was Brisbois. When he went awol Brisbois fled250 Miles South to Robert Edwards known to All As papa Bear who directs the san Antonio aids  told stories of what he called a quarantine unit for soldiers infected with the aids virus. Edwards and Louis font of Boston an attorney specializing in military Law advised Brisbois to surrender at nearby Lackland fab where treatment of his sol Diers is considered relatively humane. We advised the army and the air Force that he was in a delicate Frame of mind Edwards said. Two Days later army military police arrived at Theair Force base put Brisbois in Handcuffs and leg Irons and drove him to the fort Hood stockade. There hews handed a full bottle of debuting shampoo which bore the Label Poison in bold print. Brisbois walked Back to the showers and drank it. Guards had Brisbois stomach pumped and returned him to the stockade. Shortly after the incident Brisbois was involuntarily Given a general discharge from the army. He is now fighting for medical and other veterans  there Are no studies on How Many his positive soldiers become suicidal Brisbois situation snot unique civilian advocates said. Just outside san Antonio at fort Sam Houston another Soldier related his emotional disintegration after being told he had tested positive for his. He proudly showed a 1986letter of commendation and his 1987 army achieve ment medal for exceptionally meritorious  s not dealing with the his that s stressful it s everything else he said outlining How he was shuttled from Job to Job on base and was unable to get psychological counselling despite repeated  Day i ask Why do i put up with this along with the feeling of discrimination comes the fear of being discharged without medical coverage. Most of the still Active his positive personnel who were interviewed said they Hope to obtain medical discharges providing them with lifetime Access to free medical treatment. The defense department allows such discharges when the immune system become sharply weakened by the virus. Look one Soldier said we All know we be got inexpensive disease ahead of us now How in hell am i going to pay for that on my own especially when we Al know we Ain t going to get jobs when we get out of  the defense department requires that military personnel sign a Safe sex statement when they Are diag nosed As his positive promising to not have sex with out a condom and to inform All sexual partners of the positive his test. Fort Hood goes a step further Small said soldiers at the base who Are infected must sign a statement promising to have no sex with anyone but spouse to inform their spouse of the infection and to use a condom. The word sex is not defined. In All the services his positive soldiers have Bee denied medical benefits for a variety of reasons and Manv have been prosecuted for sodomy disobedience fan officer and other charges related to sexual activity. Small said a civilian nurse questions his positive personnel about their sexual contacts and their an Swers Are kept secret. But he said the files can be subpoenaed by criminal investigators if a prosecution is under Way. Experts fear California facing 3rd dry year Sacramento Calif. A through Bone dry  a pc for act a. Two of ,. Us with every passing Day of Blue skies water experts Are growing More Pessi mistic that the state can avoid an unprecedented third year of drought that would Lead to strict water ration ing. As of feb. 1, statewide precipitation for the Winter was 35 percent below average Runoff was 55 percent below Normal and reservoirs were Only about 40 percent full. With each additional dry week the chances for recovery grow More slim. Weekend skiers find the Mountain covered with a powdery Snow. Shrunken reservoirs reveal Bare terraces of Sand. Rivers run in Ever smaller channels through y Roc Beds. Forests Are spotted Orange red with dying Trees. And anxious Farmers watch their tractors pickup dust where there should be mud. Unless California gets significant precipitation in the next few weeks officials said much of the state will suffer hardships rivalling those of the 1976-77 drought when the stat Economy lost $2.4 billion. The Only area that will probably escape the most stringent rationing is Souther California. The East Bay District like the Sanfrancisco water department across the Bay put into effect 25 percent mandatory water rationing last year. With an Eye on their shrinking Sierra Nevada reservoirs both agencies redrafting further cutbacks. They Are not alone. Depending on the severity of a continued drought Survey by the department of water resources of 112 agencies found 60to 76 plan mandatory rationing up from 27 agencies in 1988. Growers in the Fertile san Joaquin Valley facing cutbacks in state water allocations of up to 40 percent an cuts in Federal allocations of up to 50 percent Are preparing to Idle Fields and grow less thirsty and less Profita ble crops. The cutback in Federal Central Valley project water is Only the second in the project s 54-year history. Most cities won t determine exact rationing plans until april the offi Cial end of the Rainy season. Water experts said the Outlook could still improve recalling Northern califor Nia floods in february 1986. But pessimism is growing. The san Francisco water depart ment which serves 2.1 million people in san Francisco and the Silicon Val Ley is developing drought plans ranging from voluntary conservation to 35 per cent mandatory cuts. People in Southern California could fare much better thanks to diversified water supplies from the Owens Valley the state water project and a surplus of Colorado River water