Military personnel: On the move and vulnerable/AIDS to HIV and other STIs

Abstract

Throughout time, military populations have formed one of the largest and most mobile sectors of society. At present, the world's armed forces comprise more than 20 million men and women in active service. In an ever more contentious post-Cold War era, national militaries perform an increasingly prominent, mobile and visible role. In the late 1990s, 36 countries were actively engaged in armed struggles, eight confronted emergent international conflicts, and 13 were embroiled in internal civil disorders. To a greater extent than in the past, national military personnel are also employed in multinational interventions in response to domestic and international conflicts. By June 2004, 16 United Nations peacekeeping operations were underway in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Middle East, involving a total of over 56,000 troops and police drawn from 97 countries. These figures may well expand, both in missions and in personnel involved, since five additional missions were, at that time, in preparation or under consideration (Côte d'Ivoire, Burundi, Haiti, Iraq, and Sudan). Figures from 2002 indicate that, in addition to UN peacekeeping operations, another 30 non-UN peacekeeping, observer, and enforcement missions were deployed in these regions. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.