Air Force Master Sgt. Logan Ireland says options for transgender troops like himself are narrowing. (Logan Ireland)
WASHINGTON — Seventeen veterans who left the Air Force and Space Force early because of President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender troops filed a federal lawsuit over loss of their retirement pay and health care coverage.
In Ireland v. United States, the transgender veterans — who each had 15 years to 18 years of military service — estimated they will lose from $1 million to $2 million in retirement income and medical coverage over their lifetime if their benefits are not restored.
The case was filed Monday in U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., which rules over monetary claims filed against the federal government. The Pentagon has declined to comment about ongoing litigation.
“Ripping away the retirements we have earned is a betrayal of the sacrifices made by service members and our families,” said Logan Ireland, a former Air Force master sergeant with more than 15 years of service. Ireland is a lead plaintiff in the case.
The National Center for LGBTQ Rights and GLAD Law, a nonprofit that represents LGBTQ individuals, are among the attorneys arguing for the plaintiffs in the case.
Service members with a diagnosis or history of “gender dysphoria” are subject to disqualification from military service, according to the ban.
Gender dysphoria is a psychiatric condition describing the distress individuals may experience when their gender identity is different than their sex assigned at birth.
Logan Ireland, a former Air Force master sergeant who served in Afghanistan, is a lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed against President Donald Trump’s administration. Ireland is among 17 veterans arguing they lost retirement pay after leaving the military early under Trump’s ban on transgender troops. (U.S. Space Force)
The veterans suing the Trump administration claim they were issued early retirement orders in June after Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 barring openly transgender people from serving in the military.
Gwen R. DeFilippi, then acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, had sent out a memo in May stating service members with 15 to 18 years of service may be eligible for early retirement, according to court documents.
The 17 transgender veterans stated they were authorized for early retirement by the Air Force secretary, according to court documents. The Air Force and Space Force both fall under the leadership of the Air Force secretary.
“Each of these retirement orders states on its face that it is “BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE,” according to the lawsuit that includes copies of the retirement orders as evidence.
The early retirement orders granted them a portion of their pensions and “lifetime access” to TRICARE, the health insurance program for service members, retirees and their families, according to court documents.
Military service members are not eligible for full retirement benefits until they complete 20 years of service.
But in August, the Trump administration abruptly rescinded the early retirement orders, according to court documents.
“After careful consideration of the individual applications, I am disapproving all Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA) exception … for members with 15 to 18 years of service,” according to a memo from Brian Scarlett, the acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
The plaintiffs said they were given the choice to leave the military on their own or face involuntary separation because of their transgender status.
Voluntary separation would grant them separation pay that is substantially less than the partial pensions they would receive by taking early retirement, according to the lawsuit.
“We should not be thrown into economic hardship or made to feel our years of service are regarded by our country as meaningless,” said Ireland, whose overseas duty included tours in Afghanistan, South Korea and the Middle East.
Attorneys for the veterans argued that Air Force regulation states that retirement orders can only be overturned or withdrawn under “very limited circumstances, none of which were present here.”
