To determine the impact of HIV on the Defence Force it is necessary to examine the factors that make military personnel susceptible to HIV transmission and then determine what makes the organization vulnerable to HIV infection. These factors are common to all defence forces, and exist for a variety of reasons that are peculiar to the military environment.

Susceptibility describes those factors determining the rate at which the epidemic is propagated.

Vulnerability describes those features of the military that make it more or less likely that excess morbidity and mortality associated with disease will have deleterious impacts upon that unit.

Military personnel throughout the world are among the most susceptible populations to HIV infection. Some of the risk factors that increase their susceptibility are:

• They are mostly young and sexually active.
• They are often away from their home environment.
• They are governed more by peer pressure than social convention.
• They are inclined to feel invincible and take risks.
• They are surrounded by opportunities for casual sex.

Based on the above-mentioned factors, the military community is considered to be a high-risk environment for HIV transmission. In addition they frequently come in contact with other high-risk environments which multiply their susceptibility to HIV transmission.

One example is deployment to unsettled areas, which increases their chances of acquiring HIV as they are exposed not only to socially disrupted settings, but also to the possibility of infection through wounding and contaminated blood.

HIV transmission is also more likely to occur where other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are present and according to the Civil Military Alliance, peacetime STI infection rates among military populations have been found to be two to five times higher than in civilian societies. Indeed, evidence suggests that some soldiers consider the acquisition of an STI to be a symbol of sexual prowess and proof of manhood. According to the UN, the military risk for acquiring STIs increases by as much as 100 times that of civilians during wartime.

The defence force is vulnerable to the HIV epidemic due to various reasons.

These reasons can be subdivided into the following:

• The vulnerability of the soldier
• The vulnerability of the operational task
• The vulnerability of the organization

The Vulnerability of the Soldier
Military service require of soldiers to perform their duty in a variety of hostile environments. In addition, operational deployment removes members from care and support structures and places these members under high levels of stress.

All these factors necessitate that the military only utilize soldiers that are fit, healthy and mentally alert. Any condition that compromises the physical or mental health of an individual in uniform, similarly compromises the ability of the soldier to perform his/her duty.

The Vulnerability of the Operational Task
The military force design relies on groups of soldiers or combat units that function as a system. Every member in such a system performs a particular function, and the loss of a member from such a system causes it to function sub-optimally. Where members are replaced, the whole system is subject to retraining to ensure the coherency and functional integrity of the group.

The operational capability of a defence force further relies on key personnel that perform specific functions within systems (eg. Pilots, Chefs, Drivers, Signallers). Loss of such personnel requires replacement with similarly trained personnel to avoid combat system failure.

Malfunction of a combat system due to disease may be very costly in terms of financial loss and loss of human lives.

The Vulnerability of the Organization
Military training is costly and task specific and military skills can only be obtained within the military with very little opportunity for multi-skill training. In addition, knowledge and expertise with regard to military doctrine takes many years to develop and as promotion is based on such knowledge and expertise, promotion is only possible through rank and file.

Skills and experience lost to the organization are therefore irreplaceable, especially in the case of senior rank levels where expertise gained through operational exposure is impossible to duplicate.

It must further be remembered that the SANDF is funded through Parliament to execute certain tasks, and that expenditure with regard to disease management impact directly on the Defence Budget, diverting finances from other critical resources.