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Chelsea Manning, a United States Army soldier serving a 35-year sentence for her role in providing classified documents to WikiLeaks, will now be able to receive hormone therapy at Fort Leavenworth.

It represents a considerable shift for the US military to provide this treatment for Ms. Manning, who identifies as transgender and sued the government to be able to have access to the hormone therapy in order to transition from a man, formerly known as Bradley, to a woman.

The decision speaks to changes that advocacy groups say they see at the Pentagon.

Though transgender troops are currently banned by the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has said that he believes the policy should be reviewed. Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James told USA Today that she believes the ban on transgender troops is likely to be reassessed and should be lifted.

And Mara Kiesling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, says she has witnessed openness to thinking about the issue in new ways at lower levels.

鈥淲e had a phone call here a few weeks ago from a commanding officer, saying, 'We have our first openly trans person in our unit, and we want to do right by them, and we don鈥檛 understand everything, so help us,' 鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a fairly common employer call.鈥�

A report written by former US Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders and sponsored by an advocacy group estimated that there are some 15,000 transgender troops currently serving.

The decision involving Manning does, however, point to inconsistencies in Pentagon policy. While the Pentagon does not pay for hormone therapy for troops, the Department of Veterans Affairs does cover costs for veterans who qualify, though it will not pay for sexual reassignment surgery.

鈥淪o if you鈥檙e in the service and you鈥檙e a prisoner, you can qualify for this health care. But if you鈥檙e not a prisoner and you鈥檙e in the service, and your doctor says you need this, you can get thrown out of the military,鈥� Ms. Keisling notes.

Since arriving to begin serving her prison term at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., Manning's "top priority" has been advocating for 鈥渉er medically necessary health care,鈥� says Chase Strangio, Manning鈥檚 attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union.聽

鈥淪he has fought her whole life 鈥揳nd particularly over the course of the past few years 鈥� to be seen and affirmed as who she is: as Chelsea,鈥� he adds. 鈥淲e are thrilled for Chelsea that the government has finally agreed to initiate hormone therapy as part of her treatment plan.鈥�

The Army had no comment on the decision to provide hormone therapy and referred questions to the Department of Justice, where a spokesperson also declined comment.

The story was first broken Thursday by USA Today, which obtained a memo dated Feb. 5 from Col. Erica Nelson, commandant of the Fort Leavenworth Disciplinary Barracks.聽

鈥淎fter carefully considering the recommendation that [hormone treatment] is medically appropriate and necessary, and weighing all associated safety and security risks presented, I approve adding [hormone treatment] to inmate Manning鈥檚 treatment plan.鈥�

Mr. Strangio says that he is 鈥渉opeful鈥� that the government will reconsider its positions on some decisions in the Manning case. Among these, Strangio says, 鈥淭he military continues to refuse to let Chelsea grow her hair like other female prisoners, a critical part of her treatment plan that has been recognized by her doctors.鈥澛�

For the rest of transgendered troops currently serving in uniform, current military policy leaves them at the mercy of their commanders and co-workers, Keisling says.

While many are supportive, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e so blackmail-able, even if your commanding officer says, 'I want to support you because you鈥檙e a good soldier,' 鈥� she adds. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e fine until a new commanding officer comes in, or you get a promotion someone else wanted and they out you.鈥�

Again, this support is heartening, Keisling say, but 鈥渨e鈥檙e getting a little impatient with, 鈥楾he policy needs to be reviewed.鈥� 鈥�