Sixteen former Air Force majors are suing the service after they were involuntarily discharged in 2011.

The officers, represented by Tully Rinckey PLLC, are demanding the Air Force reinstate them to active duty, pay their back pay, and reimburse them for fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act, according to a release from the Washington, D.C., law firm.

The law firm said the fault lies with then-Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley who blocked their 16 clients from completing 20 years of service to qualify for retirement.

Donley informed then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates in December 2010 that the Air Force would be denying continuation to some officers within the policy's stated six-year window.

"Instead of being selected for continuation until retirement at 20 years as has been standard operating procedure for those who are within six years of retirement, which at the time was mandated by Department of Defense regulations, the majors were involuntarily discharged," the firm said.

In 2011, 157 majors were dismissed from the Air Force after an officer continuation board determined their service was no longer needed.

Officers interviewed by Air Force Times at the time all said they had deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan and said that while they may not have had perfect records, they weren't "bad apples."

The records of 6,438 majors — 3,033 in or above zone — went before the promotions board for majors and lieutenant colonels in June 2011; 1,054 majors in or above the zone were selected for promotion. The records of the 245 majors twice passed over then went before a selective continuation board; 157 got the boot, 88 — many of them pilots — got to retire.

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"It is unfortunate that then-Secretary Donley thought it appropriate to make this decision at all, let alone at a time when nearly 200 highly skilled and valued officers who courageously served their country would be affected," said Tully Rinckey PLLC founding partner Greg Rinckey. "Tully Rinckey PLLC will fight to make sure these airmen see their day in court."

Oriana Pawlyk covers deployments, cyber, Guard/Reserve, uniforms, physical training, crime and operations in the Middle East, Europe and Pacific for Air Force Times. She was the Early Bird Brief editor in 2015. Email her at opawlyk@airforcetimes.com.

Follow her on Twitter @Oriana0214.