Overview
- GLAD Law and the National Center for LGBTQ Rights filed the suit Monday on behalf of 17 plaintiffs with 15–18 years of service.
- Early retirement orders issued in June were reversed in an Aug. 4 memo by acting Air Force personnel chief Brian L. Scarlett, disapproving all TERA exception requests.
- The Air Force says no exceptions were approved and that members were prematurely notified, while the complaint cites DAFI 36-3203 limiting rescissions to narrow errors.
- Advocates estimate each plaintiff could lose roughly $1–2 million in lifetime retirement value along with family health insurance under TRICARE.
- The case proceeds as the administration’s transgender service ban remains enforceable under a Supreme Court order, and the Pentagon counts about 4,240 troops with gender dysphoria diagnoses.