Move targets trans air force members with 15-18 years of service and forces them out of US military with no benefits
The US 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 4 August memo says.
The move is the latest escalation by Donald Trump’s administration as it seeks to bar transgender people from joining the US military and remove all who are serving. The Pentagon says transgender people are medically unfit, something civil rights activists say is untrue and constitutes illegal discrimination.
“After careful consideration of the individual applications, I am disapproving all Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA) exception to policy requests in Tabs 1 and 2 [sections of the documents] for members with 15-18 years of service,” the memo said.
