Two ‘venereal’ diseases (VD) have marched in lockstep with the Australian Army from 1901. Gonorrhœa and syphilis have been the Army’s unwelcome companions in many overseas deployments. These diseases caused more troop wastage than any others.

Because VD was preventable, contracting it was often seen as a military discipline as well as a medical issue.

The economic and sociological ramifications of VD infection were complex. First, until penicillin, both diseases were difficult to cure, tying up medical staff with cases that should not have occurred. Second, troops contracting VD were the menfolk of Australian women, who would have been angry knowing their men had joined the Army and then became VD-infected. Third, when overseas deployments ended, VD-infected troops could not be repatriated until cured, lest they cause VD epidemics in Australia.

The scale of these problems is seen in the AIF’s VD statistics in World War I. The soldiers treated for VD numbered about 60,000. Most required about six weeks’ hospitalisation. That was the equivalent of three to four Army divisions. It also represented some 5,570 lost ‘man years’ — a huge waste in the Army’s operational capacity, and a burden for Australian taxpayers.