‘The Major Richard Star Act is About Fairness’

From drafting the original version with partners at the Wounded Warrior Project to its ongoing advocacy in Congress, VFW remains committed to passing the Major Richard Star Act.

Since the introduction of the Star Act in 2021, VFW's stance has not wavered. Through its National Legislative Service (NLS) on Capitol Hill, the country's oldest veterans organization aims to restore full retirement pay for combat-injured veterans.

"The VFW has fought for years to end the unjust practice of offsetting military retirement pay for combat-disabled veterans," VFW NLS Associate Director Nancy Springer said. "The Major Richard Star Act is about fairness. No veteran who was wounded in service should be forced to give up retirement benefits because of the injuries they sustained defending our country."

Under current law, veterans who served fewer than 20 years as a result of their combat-related injuries are ineligible for full military retirement pay and disability benefits. These veterans have their retirement pay reduced dollar-for-dollar by their disability compensation, an offset that currently affects more than 50,000 combat-injured military retirees.

To help lawmakers, advocates and the public understand the real impacts of policies on the military community, VFW created a story bank called VFW Voices of Service - Stories in Action. These stories have been, and will continue to be, used in congressional testimony, meetings with lawmakers, reports and media outreach.

One such story is that of Army veteran Austin Chapman from Michigan, who deployed with the 449th Combat Engineer Company to Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in 2012-13.

That year would change the course of his life.

As a medic stationed at Outpost Ouellette near Camp Leatherneck and assigned to a route clearance platoon, Chapman's responsibilities included responding to and treating his teammates, Afghan soldiers and coalition partners.

"It also meant witnessing the realities of sustained combat," Chapman said. "I saw loss across multiple forces and nations. Those experiences stay with you long after you return home."

During his time in Afghanistan, Chapman's platoon encountered about 90 IEDs, of which 36 detonated. He was involved in firefights and awarded the Combat Medical Badge for his service.

"I did not leave Helmand uninjured," Chapman said. "I lost hearing in one ear, have nerve damage and live with PTSD. I returned with asthma that has been medically connected to burn-pit exposure. These injuries were not obvious at the moment. They became clear over time, and they are permanent."

After he left the military with his combat-related injuries, Chapman fell in line with the process most veterans are expected to follow as they transition to civilian life. He pursued an education, built a civilian career and started a family of his own.

"I did not expect special treatment," Chapman said. "I expected fairness."

What Chapman did not understand until later was that because of his injuries, he would be required to give up a portion of his earned military retirement pay due to his VA disability compensation, the issue addressed by the Star Act.

"In civilian life, no pension is reduced because someone was injured on the job," Chapman said. "Veterans are the only group asked to accept this kind of trade-off . For me, this is not an abstract policy discussion. It affects how I plan for my family's future and how I think about long-term stability. It sends a quiet message that injuries sustained in service are treated as a financial offset rather than as a responsibility owed to the veteran."

Army veterans William Piel of Virginia and Michael Bryant of Florida share similar concerns.

Piel, who deployed to Afghanistan with A Co., 2nd Bn., 28th Inf., 172nd Inf. Bgde., out of Graffenwoer, Germany, was blown up by an IED during his third and final tour in 2012.

"I was halfway through what was intended to be a 20-year career," Piel said. "I have reinvented myself and become an ER nurse, but if I were able to receive the retirement I bled for, I wouldn't have to work extra shifts and could spend that time with my family."

Like Piel and Chapman, Bryant was medically retired after accrued combat-related injuries stemming from four tours that included deployments to Iraq in 2003 and 2007, Afghanistan in 2010, and Djibouti in 2013.

"Nothing would have made me prouder than to serve my country for 20 to 30 years, to become an old cranky sergeant major," Bryant said. "However, that dream was taken from me when I was forced to medically retire and then forced to choose between my disability pay and my military pension. This inability to draw both my pension and my disability has caused me countless financial difficulties since I retired 12 years ago."

This problem currently impacts more than 50,000 military retirees with combat injuries, with Bryant, Piel and Chapman being examples.

"Passing the Richard Star Act would not be charity," Chapman said. "It would be the fulfillment of a promise. Veterans injured in service should not be forced to choose which part of their service counts - all of it counts."

If you would like to share your story with respect to the passage of the Star Act, please scan the QR code on this page. Your experiences help show how decisions made by lawmakers affect real
lives.

This article is featured in the 2026 May/June issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Ismael Rodriguez Jr., associate editor for VFW magazine.