Who is Deborah Penny? Trans British Army officer provokes feminist backlash after getting featured on Women in Leadership panel

A trans-British Army officer named Deborah Penny has sparked an online backlash after she was featured on the Women in Leadership event panel. Earlier this week, Warrant Officer Class 2 Penny took part in a discussion at Sandhurst Military Academy about the experiences faced by women in the forces.

As per media outlet The Telegraph, the decision to include Deborah Penny on the panel instead of a biological woman garnered immense criticism online from campaigners. They claimed that the WO2's experience that she shared during the discussion was "irrelevant" to women as she joined the army as a man and took up roles female troops couldn't do.

Picture of Deborah Penny participating in a discussion at Sandhurst Military Academy. (Photo via @Tub_Thumperz/Twitter)

One of the critics is the director of advocacy for campaign group S*x Matters, Helen Joyce, who said:

"It is enormously offensive to present this to women as something that is useful to their careers, they cannot do the same thing. It is insulting and really suggests that there aren't any women who can be women in leadership. I think that they would have been better off not doing the event."

Several other social media users expressed their disappointment with WO2 Penny being present in the panel while discussing the experiences faced by women in the army.

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All you need to know about Deborah Penny

Warrant Officer 2 Deborah Penny is a native of Karachi West, Pakistan, in 1966. She is presently employed with the Army Engagement Group as the Warrant Officer Diversity Engagement Team member.

She joined the army in September 1982 and reported to her first unit (19 Fd Regt RA) in Germany in January 1984. She returned to the UK in 1986, completed the commando school, and subsequently served with the Royal Artillery's 29th Commando Regiment until 1999.

WO2 Penny came out as transgender in 2004 to the Army, her family, and friends. After two years, she was given permission to start the transition, which took her until 2010. When she traveled to Afghanistan in 2012 for the first of her two deployments (Operation HERRICK), she became the first transgender soldier in an operational theater.

Following that, she used her knowledge to establish a network at Bovington Garrison for women and LGBTQ+ workers, and to provide advice to the Chain of Command on transgender issues.

In 1999, after obtaining her qualification as an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) operator, she joined the Royal Logistics Corps (RLC) as an ammunition technician. She was promoted to Sergeant and assigned to 621 EOD Squadron RLC.

Furthermore, she has occupied roles as the Ammunition Warrant Officer at Bovington and Lulworth, in addition to serving as a teacher at the Army School of Ammunition located in Kineton.

Throughout her tenure, WO2 Deborah Penny has deployed on foreign exercises to the US, Sardinia, Norway, Belize, and Brunei. Additionally, she has deployed on operational assignments to Cyprus, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

In 2018, WO2 Penny concluded her active career and became a member of the Reserves. She has since taken part in RESCRIPT, REDFOLD, and YELLOW HAMMER operations.

As for the criticism, the co-chair of the Army Servicewomen's Network, Hannah Colbeck, also slammed The Ministry of Defence. According to the DailyMail, she wrote:

"Great being [at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst] today to support the [Army Engagement] team delivering a Women in Leadership event. Pomp and ceremony from the Commandant's Parade, followed by a Lived Experience Panel and questions."

Prior to 2010, WO2 Deborah Penny discussed her lengthy transition process between her coming out in 2004 and 2010. Transgender individuals were permitted to enter the military in 1999, a year before gay, lesbian, and bis*xual people.