US Navy SEAL in bin Laden raid unit becomes transgender 'Warrior Princess'
US soldier from unit that killed Bin Laden tells of turmoil that led to new transgender identity
A decorated former US Navy SEAL is now living life as a woman after having hormone therapy and has revealed her transgender identity in a new memoir titled Warrior Princess.
Kristin Beck tells of her turmoil while serving in SEAL Team 6, from which she retired just months before the unit killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden at his Pakistan hideout in 2011.
Beck's book is dedicated to those fearful of declaring themselves transgender and comes more than two years after Congress repealed a ban on openly homosexual troops serving in the American military.
But transgender men and women are still barred from service and activists hope the memoir could help lift the prohibition.
To Beck's surprise, former comrades have reportedly sent in messages of support. "Brother, I am with you ... being a SEAL is hard, this looks harder. Peace," one commando wrote to her.