In a world gone nuts

The Australian Army is paying for gender reassignment surgery for one of its officers.

ARMY Captain Matthew Clinch served twice in East Timor and after his final sexual transformation to become Bridget Clinch wants to return to his previous command role. After months of uncertainty, the army has confirmed that taxpayers will pick up the full tab for Capt Clinch's gender surgery and any other treatment that is required by her. Capt Clinch is in Brisbane with her partner and two daughters, on extended sick leave from her job as the second in command of the army's Adventurous Training Wing based at Wagga Wagga in southern NSW.

This person's mother is not impressed

Her immediate family, including both daughters, have accepted that Matthew is now Bridget, but her mother Deidre told Channel Seven that she and the wider family unit were not convinced. ``Matthew had a healthy body know that he was very particular about health and lifestyle and for him to mutilate this beautiful body which I've watched grow. He said there was a mistake on his birth certificate, there was no mistake, he was a perfect little boy, he was the most beautiful child,'' Mrs Clinch said.

That's about right, this is gross self mutilation though it is undoubtedly politically incorrect to cast it that way.