Army sergeant is having a £30,000 sex change — paid by MoD
Posted: Sun 24 Jun, 2007 8:26 am
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/story_p ... ews3.shtmlA BURLY Army sergeant is having a £30,000 sex change — paid for by the Ministry of Defence.
Rugby-playing former commando David Penny, 40, has changed his name to Deborah and wears false boobs under his uniform.
Off duty, the Royal Green Jackets bomb disposal unit veteran is allowed to totter around the mess in stilettos, a skirt and tight-fitting tops as he awaits his op.
And we can reveal his comrades are outraged — not so much by Penny's sex swap, but by the fact the ARMY is shelling out for it.
One told the News of the World: "It's nothing short of a scandal that thousands of pounds is being used this way when soldiers are dying in Afghanistan and Iraq because the MoD cannot afford the right kit for them.
"A few of the lads have joked that Penny wouldn't be able to go into battle without his weapon. But when you sit back and think about what's going on, it's much more serious than that."
Sgt Penny stunned colleagues by ‘coming out' as a woman last week at Colchester barracks in Essex. He had sought permission from superiors before doing it.
On Friday we captured the soldier — who has served for 23 years—returning to his home dressed as Deborah.
‘She' is pictured in her Royal Green Jackets uniform with a new bobbed hair-do and wearing ear-rings and a teddy bear keyring.
Unfortunately stubble is clearly visible through Sgt Deborah's make-up.
The soldier — who is said to have been disowned by his shocked RAF veteran father Charles — has to prove he can live like a woman for a year before he undergoes sex swap surgery.
A pal said: "It will be a tough job. He is a strong man with legs like tree trunks and broad shoulders. His voice is still deep and he will need voice coaching."
Penny has split with his pub landlady girlfriend of ten years, 49-year-old Susan Newman, who pals say is devastated.
"Susan had noticed something wrong with the relationship so she confronted him and asked if there was another woman," said a friend.
Private
"David had to sit her down and tell her that the other woman was HIM.
"I think she could have coped if he was just cross dressing. But when he told her he had the go-ahead for a sex change operation she knew there was no way they could be together."
An MoD spokesman confirmed Sgt Penny was now living a new life as Deborah but said it was a private matter.
Asked by the News of the World if it was appropriate for the MoD to pay £30,000 for a soldier's sex swap op when the army was facing £40 million cuts and while front-line troops were short of vital equipment like life-saving body armour, the spokesman said: "No comment".
