A group of seventeen transgender US Air Force service members has initiated legal action against the former president's government for denying their early retirement pensions and related entitlements.
The formal complaint, submitted in federal court, characterizes the government's action as "illegal and void" according to legal papers.
This legal action follows the Air Force's confirmation that it would deny premature pension benefits to all trans military personnel with 15 to 18 years of armed forces service, a ruling that essentially forces them out of the military without pension benefits.
"USAF's own retirement instruction provides that pension authorization may only be rescinded under extremely restricted conditions, none of which were present here," declares the legal complaint.
Included in the listed claimants are Logan Ireland, Ashley Davis, Kira Brimhall and Lindell Walley.
Legal advocacy groups acting for the affected service members stated that the cancellation of early retirement support had eliminated economic security and entitlements these families were depending on after many years of distinguished service to their nation.
"The affected personnel will lose $1-2m in long-term entitlements, threatening their household financial stability," per the official declaration. "The action also strips the service members and their dependents of access to TRICARE, the military health insurance program, which would have granted eligibility for civilian health care providers beyond VA facilities."
The lawsuit occurred during the most recent intensification by the Trump administration to ban transgender people from joining the military and to discharge those currently enlisted. The Department of Defense has claimed that trans individuals are not medically qualified, something human rights advocates have strongly contested and say constitutes illegal discrimination.
In spring, a US district judge blocked Trump's executive order prohibiting trans individuals from military service. US district judge Judge Reyes in the nation's capital ruled that the directive likely infringed upon their fundamental rights. Pentagon officials have said in the past that 4,200 military personnel were diagnosed with "gender dysphoria", which they use as an identifier of being trans.
The Air Force, however, has stood apart in its implementation of policies that go further than just discharging personnel from military service. As well as rescinding early retirement benefits, the service rolled out a recent regulation in late summer to refuse transgender members the right to argue before a board of their peers for the right to continue serving.
The most recent lawsuit, the latest in a string, is challenging that regulation.
According to the legal filings, the "claimants' pension authorizations remain legally binding". Their attorneys are calling for these "orders to be restored" and pushing for "their military records be corrected appropriately". The complaint also says "interest, legal expenses and lawyer costs" must be included and "further relief as the judiciary deems just and proper."
"Armed forces taught me to command and combat, not retreat," stated Master Sergeant Ireland, who has 15 years of military experience. "Removing my retirement communicates that those values only matter on the front lines, not when a service member needs them most."
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