‘Vets Die Waiting For Treatment While Pentagon Moves Ahead With Manning Sex Change’
[guest post by Dana]
As we were discussing International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, I was reminded of an enraging tie-in between that and the V.A. scandal wherein our veterans are quite literally, in some cases, dying while waiting for treatment.
In the wake of an ever-burgeoning “wait for them to die” scandal within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the heavy hitters in the Obama Administration have made their priorities known; specifically, while accusations swirl of purposeful lack of medical attention to vets have resulted in needless deaths, the head honcho himself for the Department of Defense (DoD)greased the skids for a convicted turncoat to receive a taxpayer subsidized sex change operation. As reported on May 14, 2014 by both the Toronto, Canada-based The Globe and Mail and also the USA TODAY news portal, convicted renegade soldier Bradley Manning could soon be transferred to a civilian hospital on the orders the Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, according to two Pentagon officials speaking on grounds of anonymity.
In an announcement by Pentagon press secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, “the Secretary approved a request by Army leadership to evaluate potential treatment options for inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria.” If and when approved, Manning will be transferred from the Leavenworth, Kansas military prison (officially deemed the United States Disciplinary Barracks) to a yet to be identified civilian hospital for Manning’s sexual reassignment surgery. Reportedly, Secretary Hagel personally gave the official thumb’s up last month for the Army “to try to work out a transfer plan with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which does provide such treatment.”
As a reminder, Bradley “Chelsea” Manning was sentenced to 35-years in Leavenworth after being found guilty of “six Espionage Act violations and 14 other offences for giving Wikileaks [Julian Assange] more than 700,000 secret military and U.S. State Department documents, along with battlefield video.”
Also, the costs incurred by such a surgery ranges from a total of $40,000 to $50,000 for “mid-range transition, including surgery.” Monthly hormone therapy can run anywhere from from $25 to $200.
The priorities of this administration are clear. And it is to their collective shame and disgrace.
–Dana