Are those procedures as "forgiving" as the civilian ones?

“The Whistleblower Protection Act does not apply to the intelligence community. They’re exempt from it. And most people in the intelligence community don’t realize that. So, you can’t even go to the Office of Special Counsel because they’re exempt from that, too, and the merit system protection board. So even if you use the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act, the only thing that gives you is the right to go to Congress. It doesn’t–it doesn’t have any teeth there to protect you against retribution from the agency that you’re reporting abuse on.”

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/52174294/t/whistleblower-protectio...

Whistleblower procedures only work if what you are exposing is wrong according to the organization's own internal rules (written and unwritten).

What these people have been exposing isn't wrong according to the internal rules of the NSA/military/State Department/etc., therefore, there's no possibility of achieving change through internal whistleblowing.

Suggestion: anyone should stop listening to what Manning says about 2 years ago as this kid was brainwashed to extreme [1]

After all, give me the toughest of the toughest, 3 years sleeping naked and being woken up every 2 hours to a loud music and put me behind closed door, and I will make him swear and admit he went back in time and killed Jesus Christ himself.

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UR8OWtcj9Y

Sorry, but looking at the current sex abuse issues going on in the military, and the complete breakdown in the system set up to deal with them, I wouldn't rely on internal whistleblower procedures

They don't work, they have never worked, and there's plenty of people who tried to make them work who have been testifying that they don't work, as loudly as possible, for years. I'm sure someone somewhere had idealistic purposes in mind when they drafted them, but in practice the primary purpose of whistleblower procedures in the military is to let the brass know who the troublemakers are.