On World AIDS Day 2025 AVER National President James Apedaile Reflects on His Personal Journey as an AIDS Survivor
Sixty-year-old AVER National President James Apedaile was 17 when he entered Basic Training for the US Army in 1983. He completed Basic and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Sill, OK, before graduating from Airborne School at Fort Benning, GA. He was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, KY, where he attended Air Assault School. He spent 3 years in Germany before attending Army Recruiting School at Fort Benjamin Harrison in 1988. He was serving as a recruiter in 1990 when an Army-required annual test discovered that the was HIV+.
Then Staff Sergeant Apedaile was devastated by the diagnosis. At that time an HIV+ diagnosis was almost always a death sentence. He describes that time as one of “denial, shock, and numbness.” In addition, Army policy did not allow HIV+ individuals to deploy or serve as recruiters. He had to give up the recruiting job, which he loved, and transfer to another unit which was deployable during the Gulf War. His name would appear on deployment lists only to be removed three times, a situation that caused extreme stress and trauma, since his fellow soldiers were unaware of his status, both gay and HIV+, something he did not want disclosed. It was at this time in September 1990, that he developed full AIDS.
The Army began the process of removing James from service. He was initially placed on Temporary Disability Medical Retirement List (TDRL) before eventually being placed on a Permanent Disability Retirement List and left military service. James received a medical discharge from the Army and retired as an E6.
James felt lost following his discharge and drifted. He worked various jobs from retail, security, banking, and bar work. He knew he eventually wanted to go back to school. In 2000 he discovered he was eligible for VA Vocational Rehabilitation and applied. VA Vocational Rehab approved him to attend DeVry University where he earned an Associate in Applied Science in Network Systems Administration and later completed a Bachelors in Technical Management. In 2012 he graduated from Colorado Technical University with a Master’s Degree in Cybersecurity. He currently works as an Information System Security Officer at the US Army Corps of Engineers and has over 29 years of combined federal service.
James reflects today on his status as an activist and a long-term AIDS survivor. “I was told that I had at most 5 years to live,” he says. “I wasn’t sure I’d live to be 30, so I decided to make as big a difference as I could and try to leave this world a better place because I was in it.” He first started providing HIV education to schools, medical professionals, and other organizations as part of Positive Speakers Bureau. He continued that work for many years.
How does it feel to have survived when so many did not? “That’s always hard for me,” he says. “Why was I one of the lucky ones to survive? I sometimes have survivors’ guilt. We lost so many talented and wonderful people. But I am grateful to be alive and hope that the work I’m doing does justice to all those who died before me.”
James joined AVER in 1993. As an LGBTQ veteran and AIDS activist, the fight to overturn Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and change the military’s policy on HIV separation was a natural fit. “I was facing a lot of discrimination and stigma even within the LGBTQ community,” he said. “I found my home in AVER.” Today he remains one of the longest serving members of the national board and has just been elected National President at AVER’s convention in Tacoma, WA. He was recently presented with 2 California State Senate Certificates of Recognition for his “leadership and dedication in advocating for equality, inclusion, and respect for all who served in the United States Armed Forces.”
“Being a long-term survivor, I realize that we are not promised tomorrow,” James recently commented. “So that guides me now to make sure I am making positive changes in the world. To continue to be on the right side of history. I am proud of the battles we won and that I played a small part in. But I also know we still have a big battle ahead of us. I really want to see equality for all.”
Below: James Apedaile with Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer at SLDN’s National Dinner in May 2016.
James Apedaile with Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer at SLDN’s National Dinner in May 2016.
It is my honor to nominate AVER Life Member Admiral Alan M. Steinman for the Leonard Matlovich Medal.