Pentagon weighs Manning’s request for gender treatment

[DonViejo]

Source: Washington Post

By Ernesto Londoño, Wednesday, May 14, 5:29 AM

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — The Pentagon is considering transferring Ptv. Chelsea Manning to a civilian prison where the soldier serving time for leaking classified documents could receive medical treatment for gender dysphoria, Defense officials said Wednesday.

That option is among several Army leaders are weighing as they wrestle with a dilemma that is likely to set precedent on a fraught issue for the Pentagon, which has come under increasing pressure to reexamine its prohibition on allowing transgender people to serve in uniform.

Manning, who joined the Army as a man, and formerly used the name Bradley, is serving a 35-year sentence for leaking a trove of sensitive military documents and diplomatic cables to the anti-secrecy group Wikileaks. While the Pentagon routinely discharges transgender service members who take steps to transition to the sex they identify with, it will retain custody of Manning for years.

“The Secretary approved a request by Army leadership to evaluate potential treatment options for inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria,” Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, where Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is meeting with Gulf defense chiefs. “No decision to transfer Private Manning to a civilian detention facility has been made, and any such decision will, of course, properly balance the soldier’s medical needs with our obligation to ensure Private Manning remains behind bars.”

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Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/pentagon-weighs-mannings-request-for-transfer-gender-treatment/2014/05/14/66207a12-db45-11e3-bda1-9b46b2066796_story.html?

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Pentagon may transfer Chelsea Manning for hormone treatment
BY LINDSEY BEVER
May 14 at 6:05 am

When convicted national security leaker Chelsea Manning said she wanted a name change — which was approved last month — the U.S. military did not oppose it. When she asked to live as a woman, military doctors diagnosed her with gender dysphoria.

But when she requested the prescribed hormone therapy, she presented officials with a new dilemma: how to treat a transgender soldier without violating U.S. military policy.

Now the Pentagon is trying to transfer her to a civilian prison for gender treatment, defense officials told the Associated Press, since the Defense Department does not offer such treatment and she cannot be discharged while serving out her 35-year sentence — even though transgender people are not allowed to serve in the U.S. military.

Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning, was convicted of sending classified documents to the anti-secrecy Web site WikiLeaks and sentenced in August.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/05/14/pentagon-will-transfer-chelsea-manning-for-hormone-treatment/?

[msanthrope]

1. Butner in NC has good medical, but she might have to remain in the segregated unit.

There's a big difference between federal civilian prison and military prison.