Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has quietly given the Pentagon approval to transfer the former Pvt. Bradley Manning — now known as Pvt. Chelsea Manning — to a civilian prison facility to undergo treatment for his gender issues, sources said.
Pvt. Manning, who was born a male but wants hormone therapy to become a female, officially changed his name from Bradley to Chelsea in a little-contested court procedure just a few weeks ago. Now he wants to live as a woman, but the military bans transgenders.
Sources say that Mr. Hagel has given the go-ahead for the Army to hash out a transfer with officials at the Federal Bureau of Prisons, where transgenders are allowed and where transgender-based treatments are offered and performed, The Associated Press reported.
The sources said they’re not allowed to discuss the case publicly, AP said.
Pvt. Manning was convicted of providing the document dump website WikiLeaks with hundreds of classified pieces of information.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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