Bridget Clinch, Sex-Change Soldier, Forces Australian Army To Re-Consider Transgender Policy
First Posted: 12- 6-10 10:20 AM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/06/bridget-clinch-sexchange-_n_792435.htmlAn army captain's choice to undergo a sex change operation has forced Australia to re-consider what some have called a longtime ban on transgender soldiers.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Matthew Clinch will change his name to Bridget after undergoing gender reassignment surgery early next year. Clinch, a 31-year-old married father of two, wasn't the first soldier to express interest in becoming a woman. A 11-year army veteran, she still says she was shocked when initially told by her commander last year that she would not be able to come to work dressed as a woman because of a long-standing military policy, which classifies those undergoing a sex change operation as unsuitable for service "because of the need for ongoing treatment and/or the presence of a psychiatric disorder.''
