Transgender military member 'pumped' about Pentagon decision to lift ban
theGRIO REPORT - Sgt. Shane Ortega says he is "pumped" about the future now that the Department of Defense has announced it is planning to change its rules concerning its transgender members.
Sgt. Shane Ortega says he is “pumped” about the future now that the Department of Defense has announced it is planning to change its rules concerning its transgender members.
Although Ortega has been living openly as a transgender man, the current rules require that he still be addressed and treated as a female. He even has to wear the female uniform, despite the fact that he requires the largest sizes because of his bodybuilding.
“I look ridiculous,” Ortega told ABC News. “The biggest is a size 20. It only fits my arms.”
However, Ortega is hopeful that things will soon change after Secretary of Defense Ash Carter’s statements on Monday.
“Throughout this time, transgender men and women in uniform have been there with us, even as they often had to serve in silence alongside their fellow comrades in arms,” Carter said in a statement. “The Defense Department’s current regulations regarding transgender service members are outdated and are causing uncertainty that distracts commanders from our core missions.”
The National Center for Transgender Equality applauded the statement as well. “The Pentagon‘s rickety system of discrimination against us is falling apart,” the group’s executive director, Mara Keisling, said in a statement. “It is in everyone’s interest that the 15,000 or so currently serving trans people be allowed to serve openly and honorably.”
“I’m pumped up,” Ortega said. “At the same time I know this is a small step forward and there’s so much more to do.”
