Born Bradley Manning, the transgender soldier and convicted national security secret leaker, will remain in the armed forces, on active-duty (though unpaid) following a scheduled release May 17th from the military prison at Fort Leavenworth.
Manning, biologically male, changed names and began identifying as female while incarcerated. The sentence was commuted during the final days of the Obama administration… a move that “infuriated” POTUS Trump and some military officials.
Manning’s court-martial remains under appeal but will remain as a “private” in the Army, stated Dave Foster (an Army spokesman). With this, Manning will continue to receive health care and most other military benefits though will not receive pay.
“Pvt. Manning is statutorily entitled to medical care while on excess leave in an active duty status, pending final appellate review,” Foster said.
The Army refused to disclose the other terms of Manning’s release, six years before parole eligibility, citing privacy concerns. Manning had been sentenced to 35 years for releasing hundreds of thousands of secret documents to WikiLeaks. Manning appeared at court martial in the uniform of an enlisted man.
