Trans air force members sue Trump administration over denied pension | Trump administration
A group of 17 transgender members of the U.S. Air Force have sued the Trump administration for denying them pensions and early retirement benefits.
The complaint, filed in Federal Court, calls the government’s decision against them “illegal and invalid.”
The lawsuit follows the Air Force’s confirmation that it would deny early retirement benefits to all transgender service members with 15 to 18 years of military experience, a move that effectively pushes them out of the military without any retirement assistance.
“The Air Force’s own retirement instructions provide that retirement orders may only be rescinded in very limited circumstances, none of which were present here,” the lawsuit states.
Named plaintiffs include Logan Ireland, Ashley Davis, Kira Brimhall and Lindell Walley.
Glad Law, one of the advocacy groups behind the lawsuit that represents the affected service members, said the revocation of early retirement assistance removed the financial support and benefits these families had counted on after long years of excellent service to their country.
“These servicemembers will lose between $1 million and $2 million in lifetime benefits, putting their families’ economic security at risk,” Glad Law said in a statement. “This action also deprives Airmen and their families of access to TRICARE, the military health insurance program, which would have provided access to civilian health care providers beyond the VA. [Veterans Administration] facilities.”
The lawsuit comes amid the Trump administration’s latest escalation to ban transgender people from joining the military and dismiss those already serving. The Pentagon argued that transgender people were medically unfit, which civil rights activists rejected as illegal discrimination.
In March, a federal judge blocked Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from serving in the military. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C. ruled that the order likely violated their constitutional rights. Pentagon officials have said in the past that 4,200 service members have been diagnosed with “gender dysphoria,” which they use as an identifier of being transgender.
The Air Force, however, has distinguished itself in implementing policies that go beyond simply separating troops from military service. In addition to canceling early retirement benefits, the service implemented a new policy in August to deny transgender members the right to advocate before a board of their peers for the right to continue serving.
The most recent lawsuit, the latest in a series, disputes that.
According to court documents, “Plaintiffs’ retirement orders remain valid and effective.” Their legal team is calling for “the reinstatement of these orders” and pushing for “their military records to be corrected accordingly.” The lawsuit also states that “interest, costs and attorney’s fees” must be considered and “any additional relief that the court deems just and appropriate.”
Ireland, a master sergeant in the Air Force with 15 years of service, told the Associated Press: “The Army taught me to lead and to fight, not to retreat.”
“Cutting my pension sends the message that these values only apply on the battlefield, not when a service member needs them most.” »
