This story is part of a continuing series on trans children and gender diverse people in Australia.

PART ONE - 'I'd rather go to heaven than live here as a boy'

PART TWO - Australian trans child reveals how she hates her 'boy body parts'

PART THREE - 'Am I going to hell because I'm trans?'

PART FOUR - 'Gender reassignment surgery saved my life'

PART SIX - 'I don’t see myself as a man or woman'

Australia’s first soldier to transition while serving her country took on the Australian Defence Force and won, paving the way for other trans personnel and veterans.

Bridget Clinch dedicated a decade to training with the ADF and was deployed twice to East Timor. But when she told her bosses she wanted to identify as her true self she was slapped with a termination notice.

“I had a medical review and they said I had to leave,” Ms Clinch, of Brisbane, told 9news.com.au. “My fight was about getting the policy cancelled. It stated trans people have a psychiatric disorder and need to be kicked out of the military."

The 39-year-old challenged the ADF’s transgender policy in 2010 - and succeeded. Previously, every trans member of military personnel had been medically discharged from service. Since then, a total of 44 trans personnel have had treatment for gender dysphoria paid for by the ADF to December last year, with 21 members being referred for surgery. But Ms Clinch says more needs to be done for retired trans soldiers whose applications for gender reassignment surgery still gets refused by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Read more via 9News