28-year-old Sgt. Shane Ortega, the first openly trans active
military soldier, has the unique perspective of having served two military
tours as a woman, and one as a man.
However, the military’s official computer system still considers
Ortega to be a woman despite his transition. For the US Army, being transgender
is classified as a mental disorder that makes someone unfit to serve.
Last summer, as a result of medical tests revealing elevated levels
of testosterone due to hormones he was taking, Ortega was barred from his
flight duties, relegated to administrative tasks.
Worse, he continues to faces the risk of being discharged from the
Army (however the intervention of an outside legal advocacy group has held that
off temporarily).
“Administratively
I shouldn’t exist,” Ortega tells the Washington
Post in a new interview. “But I do exist, so that’s still the
problem.”
The Army
recently placed transgender soldier’s futures in the hands of senior civilian
appointee, Debra S. Wada, the assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and
Reserve affairs. This decision was made after the ACLU filed a petition back in
September on behalf of Ortega and other transgender service members facing
potential discharge.
“One thing my father always said was, ‘Be the change you want to
see in the world,’” said Ortega. “I definitely wanted to be that change.”
While the Pentagon’s current routine periodic review of their
medical rules is expected to take between 12-18 months, Pentagon spokesman Nate
Christensen noted it is not a specific review of the Department’s transgender
policy.
“I have not asked for any special accommodations from my chain of
command,” offered an optimistic Ortega.
“You have to exercise patience with people, but people are not
going to understand the subject overnight.”
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