US Air Force denies early retirement for group of transgender service membersLink to Full ArticleReuters - Phil Stewart
August 7, 20251:18 PM MDT
The U.S. Air Force is denying early retirement to all transgender service members with between 15 and 18 years of military service, opting instead to force them out with no retirement benefits, according to a memo seen by Reuters.
These longer-serving transgender service members will have the same choice as more junior ones: quit or be forced out, with corresponding lump-sum payments as they walk out the door, the August 4 memo says.
The move is the latest escalation by President Donald Trump's administration as it seeks to bar transgender individuals from joining the U.S. military and remove all who are currently serving. The Pentagon says transgender individuals are medically unfit, something civil rights activists say is untrue and constitutes illegal discrimination.
... the financial impact on transgender service members would be severe, costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars over their lifetimes in denied benefits due to the Trump administration's policy.
Despite ongoing legal challenges, a Supreme Court ruling in May cleared the way for the Pentagon to implement a ban on transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military.------------------------------
Some day, a reckoning will come.
