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 15-18 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.

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    Multiple service members had already been approved for early retirement, but those approvals were rescinded, advocates say. An air force spokesperson said a subset of applications were “prematurely approved”.

    ”It’s devastating,” said Shannon Minter of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights. “This is just betrayal of a direct commitment made to these service members.“