• The U.S. Air Force is denying early retirement requests for transgender service members with 15-18 years of service.
• Affected members can only choose between a lump-sum payment or separation with no retirement benefits.
• This decision reverses prior approvals for some service members and has sparked outrage among LGBTQ+ advocates.

The U.S. Air Force recently announced it will deny all early retirement requests from transgender service members who have served between 15 and 18 years, choosing instead to discharge them without retirement benefits. These service members now face the difficult choice of accepting a lump-sum separation payment or being separated from the military, according to Reuters and CBS News.

This policy change results in a breach for those who were previously granted early retirement approvals, which are now rescinded. An Air Force spokesperson mentioned that “none of the exceptions to policy were approved,” a change from the earlier guidance allowing for applications from those nearing retirement eligibility, as noted by Newsweek and LA Times.

This development has raised serious concerns among LGBTQ+ advocates, with Shannon Leary, a lawyer representing discrimination cases, criticizing the decision as “arbitrary on its face and cruel.” Transgender service members like Logan Ireland expressed feelings of betrayal and devastation upon learning of the new policy, which diminishes their long-standing service contributions, highlighted by NPR and LA Times.