US air force denies early retirement for transgender service members
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.
'After careful consideration of the individual applications, I am disapproving all Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA) exception to policy requests in Tabs 1 and 2 [sections of the documents] for members with 15-18 years of service,' the memo said.
It was signed by Brian Scarlett, who is performing the duties of the assistant secretary of the air force for manpower and reserve affairs. The memo has not been previously reported.
Multiple service members had already been approved for early retirement, but those approvals were rescinded, advocates say.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.'
The air force's decision follows a policy detailed in a 23 May memo, which stated that air force service members with 15-18 years of service could request early retirement.
When asked by Reuters about the decision, the air force noted that it approved early retirement for more senior members who self-identified as transgender and had 18-20 years of service. Regular retirement happens after 20 years.
In an internal question-and-answer fact sheet seen by Reuters, the air force provided potential answers to the question: 'How do I tell family we're not getting retirement benefits?'
The answers were:
'Focus on the benefits you do retain (GI Bill, VA benefits, experience)'
'Emphasize this doesn't reflect on your service or character.'
'Military & Family Readiness can provide counseling resources.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
15 minutes ago
- BBC News
Ukraine will not give up land, Zelensky says ahead of Trump-Putin meeting
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has underlined he will make no territorial concessions to Russia ahead of a scheduled meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on the future of the war in US-Russia meeting is due to take place in Alaska on 15 before announcing the meeting, Trump had signalled Ukraine might have to cede territory to end the war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February said in a Telegram post on Saturday that "Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier". He reiterated that Ukraine must be involved in any solution for peace, and said he is ready to work with partners for a "real" and "lasting" peace. Zelensky said Ukraine "will not give Russia awards for what it has done"."The answer to the Ukrainian territorial issue is already in the Constitution of Ukraine. No one will and cannot deviate from this," he statement followed comments from Trump at the White House on Friday that there "will be some swapping of territories, to the betterment of both". "You're looking at territory that's been fought over for three and a half years, a lot of Russians have died. A lot of Ukrainians have died," the US president said. He did not provide further details on what any such proposal would look later announced the meeting between himself and Putin, saying that further details will follow. The meeting was later confirmed by the said on Saturday that Ukraine is ready for "real solutions that can bring peace" but underlined that Ukraine needed to be involved."Any solutions that are against us, any solutions that are without Ukraine, are simultaneously solutions against peace," he said."We are ready, together with President Trump, together with all partners, to work for a real, and most importantly, lasting peace - a peace that will not collapse because of Moscow's wishes."
The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
New Zealand and Australia seek closer military ties following Chinese live-fire naval exercise
The leaders of New Zealand and Australia on Saturday discussed closer cooperation between they their expanding militaries against the backdrop of a recent extraordinary Chinese live-fire exercise near their shores. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon hosted his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese at the tourist city of Queenstown for their second annual bilateral leaders' meeting. Luxon said his country wanted closer military cooperation with Australia, a country he describes as New Zealand's 'only ally.' 'A big focus for us has been interoperability with Australia. We want to be a force multiplier,' Luxon told reporters. 'We want to be one, sort of, essential Anzac force essentially operating within our region,' he added, referring to the Australian New Zealand Army Corps in which the two nations' soldiers first fought together during World War I. The summit follows a Chinese naval flotilla firing weapons in February in the Tasman Sea, which separates Australia and New Zealand. The exercise forced commercial airlines to divert flights. The Chinese navy rarely ventures so far south and the mission that partially circumnavigated Australia was seen as a demonstration of China's growing military reach. Albanese said last month that he complained to China's President Xi Jinping during a state visit to Beijing about the lack of notice the Chinese had given of the live-fire exercise. Xi replied that Australia also engaged in exercises, referring to freedom of navigation missions conducted by Australian military in the disputed South China Sea. Albanese and Luxon recognized their countries face the most unpredictable and dangerous strategic environment in decades and their alliance plays a critical role in protecting and advancing their shared interest in the region, they said in a joint statement. The prime ministers also commended progress over the past year to intensify defense cooperation and integration. While the statement did not mention China, the prime ministers confirmed their most important trading partner was discussed. 'Of course, the geostrategic competition, in particular between the great powers, is something that countries like Australia and New Zealand do discuss together and we cooperate politically,' Albanese said. Luxon said 'both countries have followed pretty much the same playbook' in their bilateral dealings with China. 'China's an important world power. It's important that we can engage,' Luxon said. 'We genuinely are able to have a conversation — I think a very mature one now — to say, look, we do have very different histories, we do have different systems, we do have different values, that does mean we do have differences. Good partners should be not afraid to talk about those things,' Luxon added.
Daily Mirror
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN: Plane passenger caught hiding 2 turtles in bra as one dies
In this week's round-up of the maddest news from across the Pond: shell-shocked stowaways, Trump denying the reality of phones, and rogue fish arson Christopher Bucktin is an award-winning journalist with more than 25 years of experience, the majority of which he has spent at the Daily Mirror. A former Press Gazette Reporter of the Year, he has held senior roles including Head of Features, Head of Showbusiness, and Head of Content, before relocating to the United States in 2013 to become US Editor. Renowned for breaking agenda-setting exclusives, he has reported from the front lines of America's biggest news stories, led investigations into the Trump administration, and exposed key details in the Jeffrey Epstein case. His career highlights include securing the first interview with the Peru Two inside prison, becoming the first journalist to descend into drug lord El Chapo's escape tunnel, and spearheading coverage of Prince Andrew's ties to Epstein. He holds weekly columns in the Daily Mirror, Daily Star and Reach's regional titles. Just hours after his company announced it was launching a Trump-branded smartphone, Donald Trump declared he "doesn't believe in telephones'. That's right, the same man whose social media rants are powered by thumbs and fury apparently doesn't trust the ancient magic of voice calls. While aboard Air Force One, he explained why he'd rather be in Washington. "Not having to use telephones so much, because I don't believe in telephones," he said, with the conviction of a man who thinks Bluetooth is a conspiracy and voicemail is Deep State. He doubled down, naturally: "Because people like you listen to them, you know. So being on the scene is much better." It's unclear how the soon-to-be-released TrumpPhone will work if its namesake doesn't even trust the device to make a call. Perhaps it'll ship with a Sharpie, Fox News livestream, and a pre-installed Truth Social app - and no ability to dial out, just in case the FBI is listening. *** North of the border, a solo camper in British Columbia accidentally triggered a full-blown search and rescue operation - by simply singing his heart out. Volunteers from Central Okanagan Search and Rescue were wrapping up their weekly training when a 911 call came in. Two concerned hikers near Kelowna's Boulderfields reported repeated cries echoing through the mountains. Search crews, police, and even a drone team fanned out across the area, chasing what they believed was a distressed hiker. After an intense search effort, the team found the source: a lone camper, mid-serenade, completely oblivious to the mountain-wide panic he'd caused. *** A Florida woman was caught trying to smuggle two turtles through airport security by hiding them in her bra. Yes, really. The woman, whose identity, like the reptiles, was kept under wraps, was stopped at a TSA checkpoint at Miami International Airport. Agents discovered the shell-shocked stowaways wrapped in gauze and plastic wrap and tucked neatly into her bra because apparently pockets just weren't an option. Tragically, one of the turtles didn't survive the journey. The other was turned over to the Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife, presumably for trauma counselling and a long nap. *** A Minnesota woman who helpfully detailed her auto theft in her own journal has avoided jail, despite practically doing the police's job for them. Vanessa Guerra, 31, admitted in April to receiving stolen property after swiping a $2,000 Ford van and flogging it for scrap. Unfortunately for her, police didn't need to dig very far for clues: her mother handed over her handwritten confessions, lovingly documented in a journal. According to the criminal complaint, staff at the scrapyard had no problem pointing to Guerra as the one who sold them the van. Still, it was her own diary that sealed the deal. *** Is this New York's next top model? Meet Joe Macken: part artist, part architect, part madman with a glue stick. For the past 21 years, Joe has been building a jaw-droppingly detailed 3D replica of New York City entirely by hand. His materials? Balsa wood, glue, and a seemingly endless supply of patience. *** A rogue fish caused a power outage and a wildfire near Ashcroft last week after an osprey dropped it onto a power line, sparking flames in the dry grass below. The bizarre BBQ began when firefighters were called to a brush fire six kilometres south of town. Crews from Ashcroft Fire, the local power company, and local ranch hands quickly joined forces to douse the flames with nearly 5,000 gallons of water. The culprit? A fish, likely dropped by a weary osprey that either couldn't hold on or fancied a cooked lunch.
