I haven't seen this diaried yet, so figured I'd put it out there. File this under I'll be Damned, but according to TPM,
In an unprecedented move, the Pentagon is trying to transfer convicted national security leaker Pvt. Chelsea Manning to a civilian prison so she can get treatment for her gender disorder, defense officials said.
...
The request was the first ever made by a transgender military inmate and set up a dilemma for the Defense Department: How to treat a soldier for a diagnosed disorder without violating long-standing military policy. Transgender people are not allowed to serve in the U.S. military and the Defense Department does not provide such treatment, but Manning can't be discharged from the service while serving her 35-year prison sentence.
Apparently Chuck Hagel intervened in Manning's case, ordering the Army to find a way to transfer her to a civilian, Bureau of Prisons run facility for the treatment she needs and has formally requested.
There is a cavaet, of course. Details haven't been worked out and nothing more than the effort has been announced.
"No decision to transfer Pvt. 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 Pvt. Manning remains behind bars," Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said.
The two agencies are just starting discussions about prospects for a transfer, the two officials said.
The Army has a memorandum of agreement with the Bureau of Prisons for use of several hundred beds and has sent an average of 15 to 20 prisoners a year to civilian prisons. But circumstances are different in Manning's case. The Army normally transfers some prisoners to federal prisons after all military appeals have been exhausted and discharge from military service has been executed. Cases of national security interest are not normally approved for transfer from military custody to the federal prison system.
There is no need to rehash old arguments, even though I'd bet somebody will want to. Manning's days as a security risk are over. Right now, she is what she started out as: A vulnerable human being, who needs all of us to accept her for who she is. It's time to see that she gets the treatments she wants. I still can't believe the Pentagon is even making the effort.