The U.S. air force said Thursday it would deny all transgender service members who have served between 15 and 18 years the option to retire early, and would instead force them out without retirement benefits. 

The move means that transgender service members — who are already facing expulsion under Trump administration policy — will now be faced with the choice of either taking a lump-sum separation payment offered to junior troops or be removed from the service.

An air force spokesperson told The Associated Press that "although service members with 15 to 18 years of honourable service were permitted to apply for an exception to policy, none of the exceptions to policy were approved."

About a dozen service members had been "prematurely notified" that they would be able to retire before that decision was reversed, according to the spokesperson who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal air force policy.

All transgender members of the air force are being separated from the service under the Trump administration's policies. U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a number of executive orders targeting the rights of the transgender community and dismantling anti-discrimination rules since his election, sparking widespread condemnation and fear among 2SLGBTQ+ groups. 

A Monday memo announcing the new policy, which was reviewed by The Associated Press, said that the choice to deny retirement benefits was made "after careful consideration of the individual applications."

"It's devastating," said Shannon Minter of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights. "This is just a betrayal of a direct commitment made to these service members."

The move comes after the Pentagon was given permission in early May by the Supreme Court to move forward with a ban on all transgender troops serving in the military. Days later, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a policy that would offer currently openly serving transgender troops the option to either volunteer to leave and take a large, one-time separation payout or be involuntarily separated at a later date.

A Pentagon official told reporters in May that they viewed the policy as treating "anyone impacted by it with dignity and respect."

However, in late July, transgender troops told Military.com that they were finding the entire separation process, which has included reverting their service records back to their birth gender, "dehumanizing" or "open cruelty."

Minter said the financial impact on transgender service members would be severe, costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars over their lifetimes in denied benefits due to the Trump administration's policy.

There are 4,240 U.S. active-duty and National Guard transgender troops, officials have said. Transgender rights advocates have given higher estimates.