Shane Ortega

Shane Ortega is a retired American Soldier who served in the U.S. Army , a former U.S Marine. Staff Sergeant whom served at Wheeler Airfield in Oahu, Hawaii in the Army's 25th Infantry Division. He was a member of the Gay Men's Chorus of Honolulu and competed at the professional level of bodybuilding placing 4th in fall 2015.

Born in Patuxent River, Maryland to military parents and assigned female at birth, Ortega never considered any other career. His father served in the U.S. Navy while his mom served in the Navy and Army. Two of his uncles served in Vietnam, every male in his family had historically served in every major war. . He also knew he wasn't female when he was very young, "I’ve known since I was a child." While still in Monacan High School outside Richmond he signed up for Marine boot camp and left for "boot" two days after graduating in 2004.

Ortega has served three hostile fire combat tours, two in Iraq, one in Afghanistan, "Two as a Marine and one in the Army. Two as a woman and one as a man." Ortega states, "My commitment to serving this country runs deep, I have been a team and squad leader, a Flight engineer, and a machine gun section chief."

Ortega had executed over 400 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, "and fought side-by-side in foxholes and remote operating bases." Ortega quoted "I will continue to fight this fight for the 700,000 transgender veterans that have gone before me who were forced to choose between serving their country and being true to who they are." Ortega notes that in a combat zone it made little difference of his gender identity as he was expected to carry his own equipment and do his job- lives counted on it. Military regulations used to deem "any proclamation of a transgender identity or gender-affirming clinical treatment to be evidence of a "psychosexual condition" or mental illness that makes one unfit to serve" according to The Advocate. Evaluated by an Army doctor, Ortega was determined to be free of gender dysphoria and deemed fit to serve.

Ortega had fought for LGBT rights since 2008. He co-founded support organizations and lobbied with legislators, often using his open own personal experiences and performance record to help advance the cause for transgender and LGBT service members. He fought for the repeal of DADT*, equal opportunity protections for LGBT members, the repeal of women in combat roles and the lighting of the ban on transgender military service. To accomplish this, he worked diligently for years with the military chain of command and the ACLU.

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