From Edward to Jennifer, with stops in Gitmo, Iraq: A soldier changes gender

This article was originally published on August 30, 2015.Edward Long was a career Army National Guardsman, a fiery sergeant major who guarded suspected terrorists in overseas prisons and guided young soldiers through brutal 12-hour days in some of the most dangerous places on Earth. A model commander, rock-steady, fearless, driven by a spirit of duty.”A very serious, strict, gung-ho first sergeant,” said one of his former colleagues. “A very squared-away soldier,” said another.But Edward — married and the seeming personification of the Army’s hyper-masculine culture — harbored a secret.A few times, shopping with his wife, he would glance at women’s clothing and imagine how the fabrics would feel on his skin. He’d look down at his hairy chest with disgust. After struggling mightily to tamp down those confusing impulses, he eventually acknowledged, to himself, that he’d had them all his life, dating from his childhood in Jersey City.It wasn’t until 2005, at the age of 40, divorced for a second time and grappling with the depression that had started to consume him, that Edward began to confront his secret feelings and imagine a different future. He also discovered that many others shared those feelings. “It wasn’t something I made up,”… Read full this story

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