Air Force Reverses Offer of Early Retirement for Transgender Troops

The Air Force invited transgender Airmen and Guardians with 15 to 18 years of service to apply for early retirement earlier this summer. The deal appeared to be generous compensation for the early end to their military service, brought on by a change in policy.

About a dozen members applied; but the Air Force’s acting personnel chief wrote in an Aug. 4 memo posted to the popular “Air Force amn/nco/snco” Facebook page that all applications had been rejected.

“After careful consideration of the individual applications, I am disapproving all Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA) exception to policy requests … for members with 15-18 years of service,” wrote Brian Scarlett, the acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs. An Air Force spokesperson confirmed the memo’s authenticity Aug. 7.

The temporary early retirement rules were developed during the 1990s drawdown, and have been used in the past to winnow the force or specific career fields. It was last used widely in 2013 to help manage budget cuts imposed by sequestration. 

The dozen or so transgender members’ requests were initially approved, the Air Force spokesperson said, but Scarlett, the senior civilian overseeing department personnel matters reversed that decision. An Air Force spokesperson did not provide an explanation for the reversal. The applicants may still opt to separate, in which case they would receive voluntary separation pay. Members agreeing to separate voluntarily keep bonus pay earned prior to May 15; all remaining service obligations will be waived.

The difference between retiring and separating can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime.

Under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon has determined that gender dysphoria or transition treatment is incompatible with military service. Gender dysphoria is a psychiatric diagnosis that refers to the distress some individuals feel when their sex at birth is not aligned with their gender identity. It can be treated through behavioral changes, such as dress and mannerisms, or through medical interventions, including hormone therapy or gender-transition surgery. 

Transgender troops have served openly since 2016, near the end of President Obama’s first term. Following his election that year, President Donald Trump moved to bar transgender people from joining the service, but allowed those then serving to remain in uniform. When President Joe Biden became president in 2021, he again allowed transgender recruits to join the military. But since his second inauguration as President on Jan. 20, President Trump has pushed to reverse course again.

In February, a senior defense official said some 4,240 members serving in the military had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. About 1,000 members had received gender-transition surgery since 2014. It is unclear how many of those individuals are still serving. Not all transgender troops are diagnosed with gender dysphoria, and only some who are choose to undergo surgery.

Before the most recent ban, openly transgender Airmen and Guardians served as aviators, weapons officers, and satellite operators, among other roles.

In May, the Pentagon announced a June 6 deadline for Active-duty transgender troops to self-identify and begin the voluntary separation process or risk involuntary separation later. National Guard and Reserve members had until July 7. The services were then bound to start the separation process within 30 days after members identified themselves as transgender.

At the time, a senior Defense Department official promised those who chose to leave “a very significant voluntary separation pay, a covered permanent change of station move to their home of record” and an honorable discharge, provided that misconduct had not prompted the separation. 

The official said troops who separate voluntarily will receive double the payment of those involuntarily separated. An E-5 with 10 years of service would receive $101,000 for voluntary separation versus $51,000 for involuntary separation.

In May, the Department of the Air Force said Airmen and Guardians who had served for 15 to 18 years could apply for early retirement. The Navy offered a similar option in June.

Pentagon guidance in May said officers separated because of the transgender ban are to receive the JDK separation program designator code, which indicates the service member could not be trusted with national security matters. That would make it difficult to retain or obtain a security clearance, a requirement for many jobs in the national security and defense sector.

An Air Force spokesperson said they did not have numbers available for how many transgender Airmen and Guardians have retired or separated or asked to do so since Jan. 28.