Washington — Bradley Manning, the Army private who was sentenced to prison for leaking classified documents, said Thursday, Aug. 22, he wants to live the rest of his life as a woman.

“I am Chelsea Manning. I am female,” the Army private wrote in a statement read on NBC’s “Today” by his attorney. “Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible. I hope that you will support me in this transition.”

Manning dressed as a woman.

Manning was sentenced to 35 years in military prison a day earlier.

He was previously found guilty of 20 charges, including espionage and theft, for leaking more than 700,000 documents to WikiLeaks.

“I also request that, starting today, you refer to me by my new name and use the feminine pronoun,” he continued in the statement. “I look forward to receiving letters from supporters and having the opportunity to write back.”

However, an army spokeswoman told Reuters, in an e-mailed statement, that the Army does not provide hormone therapy or sex-reassignment surgery.

Military inmates have access to mental health professionals, including a psychiatrist, psychologist, social workers and behavioral science specialists, she said.

During the trial, Manning’s attorneys discussed Manning’s struggles with gender identity as a gay soldier and cited those difficulties as a factor in Manning’s decision to leak the documents.