The Air Force promised retirement to trans members of 15 to 18 years. Then it reneged.
- - The Air Force promised retirement to trans members of 15 to 18 years. Then it reneged.
Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY August 9, 2025 at 2:37 AM
WASHINGTON − The Air Force yanked retirement pay for some transgender airmen forced out of the military by the Trump administration after telling them their applications were approved.
The Pentagon moved to purge transgender servicemembers from the ranks of the military earlier this year. They were offered a "separation" payment – the amount would be doubled if they left voluntarily, according to a February memo from department leadership.
The Air Force said in May that transgender airmen who had served between 15 and 18 years could withdraw their request for voluntary separation pay and instead apply for early retirement.
Around a dozen who applied were told "prematurely" that they were approved, according to an Air Force statement. Then the Air Force backtracked.
"After careful consideration of the individual applications, I am disapproving all" of them, Brian Scarlett, the Air Force's acting assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs, wrote in a memo first obtained by Reuters.
'I did everything correct'
"It feels like a betrayal. I'm devastated. I'm heartbroken," said Logan Ireland, an Air Force master sergeant who will have 15 years of service in November, including deployments to Afghanistan and Qatar and multiple overseas tours.
Ireland said he already had retirement orders in hand and a retirement date of Dec. 1. His parents had bought tickets to travel to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii where he is currently stationed, for his retirement party.
"I did everything correct. I was just months away from leaving the military with the dignity and respect that I thought I would be given," Ireland told USA TODAY.
The Air Force said those airmen will now be "afforded the opportunity" to apply for voluntary separation. Logan said he received a new deadline of August 15 to apply for the payment. The original deadline to apply has long passed – June 6 for regular Air and Space Force members, and July 7 for Air Force Reserve members.
Ireland said he's not sure what the value of voluntary separation will be, but he no longer has a pension. Some state and school benefits will also be off the table, he said.
The Air Force yanked retirement benefits from transgender veterans forced out by the Trump administration with 15 to 18 years of service.
"We planned everything around me being retired," he said. "I'm navigating getting out of the military with a lot of unknowns."
In the Navy, ousted transgender members with less than 18 years of service cannot get retirement, according to guidance issued in May. According to the Army's guidance, trans members with 15 to 18 years "can request" early retirement "for consideration."
The Pentagon has said military commanders should initiate medical record reviews of servicemembers they believe have gender dysphoria and have not stepped forward to resign.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order days after he was sworn into office in January stating transgender servicemembers do not "satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service." In early February, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo barring transgender people from joining the military, and the Pentagon started to expel currently serving servicemembers in June.
A group of transgender servicemembers challenged the policy in court, but the Supreme Court upheld the ban in a May decision.
Trump also banned transgender people from the military in his first term, but the policy was quickly rescinded by former President Joe Biden.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Air Force yanks retirement from a dozen trans members
Source: “AOL General News”
