Chelsea Manning is doing well as she goes through processing at the military prison and is pursuing her quest for hormone treatment, her lawyer has revealed.
Chelsea's lawyer, David Coombs, wrote in a blog post that the soldier is "happily" going through processing at the military prison at Fort Leavenworth and has already made new friends.
Coombs said Chelsea, who has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for giving government secrets to WikiLeaks, is settling in well at the prison with people "who accept her for who she is."
Chelsea Manning, who was previously known as Bradley Manning, is settling in at prison her lawyer said
The lawyer wrote that he spoke on Wednesday with Chelsea, previously known as Bradley Manning, while she goes through the three-to-four-week period known as indoctrination at the Kansas prison.
He added that Chelsea had asked him to "relay how grateful that she is for everyone's understanding and continued support."
The lawyer is set to travel to the prison in the coming weeks to meet with medical staff in order to allow Chelsea to receive hormone therapy and other treatment for her gender dysphoria - the sense of being a woman trapped in a man's body.
"These requests address a serious medical need of Chelsea and are consistent with the general medical community's practice of adequate medical care for those with gender dysphoria," Coombs wrote.
It is Army policy not to provide such treatment, but Associated Press have reported that if the Army refuses to pay it, Chelsea would provide the money – it is not yet clear whether the prison will allow that.
Army spokeswoman Maria Tolleson told the news agency that under Army policy, patient medical records are reviewed and prisoners are re-evaluated when they move to a new facility.