For Master Sgt. Logan Ireland, a 15-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force who has served tours in Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, and South Korea, the news that he could retire early brought a sense of relief and closure. In May 2025, Ireland received official notice that his application for early retirement under the Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA) exception for transgender service members had been approved, with a retirement date set for December 1, 2025. But just months later, that sense of security was shattered.
On August 4, 2025, Brian Scarlett, performing the duties of the Air Force's assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs, issued a memo abruptly denying all TERA exception requests for transgender service members with 15 to 18 years of service. This reversal, as reported by ABC News, left Ireland and about a dozen others facing involuntary separation from the military—without the retirement benefits they had been led to expect.
“The first feeling I felt was betrayal. I’ve given my life to the service,” Ireland told ABC News. “I was promised this. I had my retirement orders in hand. I’ve been starting to process what life looks like outside of uniform, and now we don’t know what that looks like.”
He wasn’t alone. Alyx, a transgender woman based in Virginia who also served 15 years in the Air Force, had her early retirement approved in June, only to have it revoked in August. “Being told that I would be discharged for a decision on somebody’s part was hard, but then being offered the retirement that I feel I’m owed, that my service is owed, that helped, and then having that yanked away for no reason, with no recourse ... that is complete and utter betrayal,” Alyx told NBC News. She asked to be identified by her first name only, fearing harassment against her and her family.
The policy reversal stems from the Trump administration’s January 27, 2025 executive order banning transgender individuals from military service. The order, which described transgender identity as “incompatible with military service,” directed the Department of Defense to revise its policies. Although several federal judges initially blocked its implementation, the Supreme Court cleared the way in May 2025 for the ban to take effect while lawsuits proceed.
In response, the Air Force offered transgender service members the option to voluntarily separate from the military, providing a one-time lump-sum payment—double the amount provided for involuntary separation—if they did so by June 6, 2025. Those who separated voluntarily would retain any bonus pay earned before May 15 and have all remaining service obligations waived. However, those who opted for involuntary separation risked losing accrued benefits and receiving only half the separation pay.
For service members like Ireland and Alyx, the issue was not just about money but about respect and recognition for their years of service. Ireland, who became a lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit challenging the ban, signed a memo acknowledging the denial of his TERA exception and chose involuntary separation, stating, “One thing the military failed to teach me was how to retreat. I’m not going down without a fight.”
The Air Force’s stance, as outlined in the memo from Scarlett and confirmed in statements to both ABC News and NBC News, was that early retirement requests from transgender service members with 15 to 18 years of service had been “prematurely notified” as approved. Higher-level review under the Department of Defense’s gender dysphoria policy was required, and none of the exceptions were ultimately granted. Only those with 18 to 20 years of service were approved for early retirement, as they were closer to the standard 20-year mark required for full benefits.
Cmdr. Emily Shilling, president of Sparta Pride—an advocacy group representing about 2,400 transgender military members—criticized the Air Force’s reversal. In an interview with ABC News, she said, “The Air Force reneged on their promise.” Shilling, who herself chose voluntary separation under duress, explained, “I was coerced into it because we knew that the voluntary separation would give me an honorable discharge with some portion of my retirement, and I’d be able to keep all of my benefits.”
The financial and emotional toll of the reversal has been significant. Alyx, who oversaw the training of more than 500 airmen at Sheppard Air Force Base and armed aircraft that escorted Air Force One, said she bought a home last year assuming she could rely on her pension and housing allowance. Now, she faces the loss of both. “Being told to go home and just sit here on my couch and try to set up for myself later while still receiving a paycheck, while leaving my unit in a shortage of manpower, in a position where they needed somebody, is very difficult for me to stomach,” she said to NBC News. “I don’t really have a choice.”
Legal experts expect the Air Force’s actions to be challenged in court. Shannon Leary, a lawyer specializing in LGBTQ employment discrimination, told Air & Space Forces magazine, “It seems quite arbitrary on its face and cruel. These military members have dedicated their lives to serving our country.” Without court intervention, she predicts other branches may follow the Air Force’s example.
The stakes are high for those affected. The difference between retiring and separating can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime, not to mention the loss of insurance coverage, disability pay, and access to housing on military bases. According to Air & Space Forces magazine, the TERA program was last widely used in 2013 to manage budget cuts, allowing members with more than 15 but fewer than 20 years of service to retire with prorated benefits. The abrupt denial of this pathway for transgender service members has left many feeling abandoned by the institution they served.
Advocates and researchers dispute the rationale behind the ban. Professor Nathaniel Frank, a cultural historian at Cornell University who studies LGBTQ+ people in the military, told ABC News, “There’s never been any evidence found that gay or transgender service members present any problems to unit cohesion or readiness, and that the evidence finds the opposite, that the prohibitions against trans people are what harm readiness and cohesion because they undermine trust.”
Despite the outcry, the Air Force maintains that those denied early retirement remain entitled to an honorable discharge, separation benefits, and transition assistance. But for many, that’s cold comfort after years of dedicated service. As Jay Brown, chief of staff at the Human Rights Campaign, put it to Metro Weekly, “This has nothing to do with military readiness. It’s cruelty for cruelty’s sake.”
With lawsuits moving through the courts and the Pentagon’s policy still in effect, the fate of transgender service members hangs in the balance. For Ireland, Alyx, and others caught in the crosshairs, the sense of betrayal is palpable, and the fight—for dignity, recognition, and justice—continues.