The United States Air Force has confirmed it will deny early retirement to transgender service members with between 15 and 18 years of service, instead opting for separation without retirement benefits, marking a controversial escalation of the Trump administration’s policy on transgender military personnel.
In a statement Thursday, an Air Force spokesperson told the Associated Press that although some transgender members had applied for an exception to policy allowing early retirement, “none of the exceptions to policy were approved.”
This affects service members nearing the two-decade milestone traditionally associated with full military retirement benefits.
Compounding the confusion, around a dozen individuals were reportedly “prematurely notified” they would be allowed to retire before the decision was reversed.
These members will now be faced with a stark choice: accept a one-time lump-sum separation payout typically reserved for junior troops or be involuntarily removed from service altogether.
The move follows a May Supreme Court decision that allowed the Pentagon to enforce a blanket ban on transgender troops. In response, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled a new policy offering active transgender members a chance to exit with a financial package or face eventual discharge.
The Air Force insists the policy was enacted “after careful consideration,” but critics, including some affected troops, have labelled it “dehumanizing” and “open cruelty.”
According to interviews conducted by Military.com in July, many service members have also been forced to revert their records to their birth-assigned gender as part of the separation process.
The Pentagon maintains it is handling the matter with “dignity and respect,” but the practical consequences suggest a systemic dismantling of protections for openly serving transgender personnel, with no recourse for those on the cusp of retirement.
The Air Force has not confirmed how many individuals in total are affected.
