Trans veterans challenge Trump ban: Lawsuit filed after denied early retirements

The Trump administration is being sued by a group of 17 transgender Air Force service members, who were separated from the military over President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender troops.
The lawsuit, which was filed Monday in federal court, accuses the Trump administration of acting unlawfully by eliminating the option for transgender service members, who had served between 15 to 18 years to retire early and receive their benefits. Under current Department of Defense policy, active duty service members who have served 20 years are eligible for retirement with full benefits.
However, the Pentagon had approved some of the transgender troops’ early retirement and were in the process of separating from the military, according to Michael Haley, a staff attorney with GLAAD Law which assisted in the lawsuit. Haley said that these career military service members now face a loss up to $2 million paid over the course of their lifetime in retirement benefits as well as lost health insurance benefits. He said the Trump administration’s decision to eliminate the option of early retirement for transgender troops, who served between 15 to 18 years, is a reflection of “the general cruelty in attacking transgender people.”
“These are folks who are going to move on with their lives, have received the OK to do so, and then have that taken away from them once again,” Haley told the AP.
Logan Ireland, a master sergeant in the Air Force with 15 years of service, is among the 17 suing the federal government.
“Stripping away my retirement sends the message that those values only apply on the battlefield, not when a service member needs them most,” Ireland told the AP.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order just days after being sworn into the presidency banning transgender troops, arguing that the presence of transgender troops impacts