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.”
