The Associated Press reported that a local spike in cases of HIV was attributed to military men seeking sex partners on line.

Of the nine people infected in 2011, eight were men who had sex with other men, according to the agency. Seven were either in the Army in Fairbanks or had sexual partners in the military…

The department released the information because health officials think others may have contracted HIV from the infected people but do not know it yet. Jones said that’s why the department took the unusual step of publicizing the outbreak.

In itself, this is not insignificant:  HIV disqualifies members of the military from overseas service, and a soldier was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison for giving a woman HIV.

One of the military’s responses to this incident: 

Soldiers are briefed on “high-risk behaviors” like unprotected sex that can lead to sexually transmitted diseases.

The amount of moral bridges that have to be crossed to get to this point is staggering.

Discipline and self-control are not only good military values, they’re also applicable to life in general.