(NBC News) – Americans with well-treated HIV can no longer be barred from enlisting in the U.S. military, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, striking down the Pentagon’s last remaining policy limiting the service of those with the virus.

“Defendants’ policies prohibiting the accession of asymptomatic HIV-positive individuals with undetectable viral loads into the military are irrational, arbitrary, and capricious. Even worse, they contribute to the ongoing stigma surrounding HIV-positive individuals while actively hampering the military’s own recruitment goals,” wrote Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. (Read More)