{"id":154239,"date":"2026-08-06T16:28:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T16:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smg.go-vip.net\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2026\/08\/06\/their-military-careers-were-cut-short-in-combat-now-theyre-fighting-congress-for-their-full-benefits\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T17:47:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T17:47:36","slug":"their-military-careers-were-cut-short-in-combat-now-theyre-fighting-congress-for-their-full-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2026\/08\/06\/their-military-careers-were-cut-short-in-combat-now-theyre-fighting-congress-for-their-full-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Their military careers were cut short in combat. Now they\u2019re fighting Congress for their full benefits."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s Note: This <\/i>article<\/i><\/a> first appeared on <\/i>The War Horse<\/i><\/a>, an award-winning nonprofit news organization educating the public on military service. Subscribe to their <\/i>newsletter<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fall lasted only seconds, but the consequences would span a lifetime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the cover of darkness in Balad, Iraq, Army Sgt. Will Fisher was moving into position for an overnight mission. He fell roughly 40 feet and landed on his feet while wearing about 100 pounds of gear. The force of the fall crushed the talus bone in his right ankle and broke his back. He was medically evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That fall eventually cost him his leg and his career \u2014 the latter more than a decade earlier than he had hoped, and five critical years short of his qualifying for a full military pension. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t planning to leave the Army,\u201d he said. \u201cThe injuries made that decision for me, and that was it. The retirement I\u2019d spent almost 15 years working towards was gone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Service members qualify for full pensions after two decades of service, but only 17% reach the necessary 20-year mark of eligibility, a 2011 Defense Department report found<\/a>. An estimated 54,000 veterans sustain career-ending combat injuries before reaching that threshold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Army veteran Will Fisher mentors a young athlete during an adaptive running camp in eastern Maryland. (Photo courtesy of Will Fisher)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Consequently, medically retired veterans lose part of their retirement pay because they also receive disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Last fall, those reductions averaged roughly $1,650 a month, or nearly $20,000 a year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Major Richard Star Act<\/a> would change that. The bill \u2014 named after an Army major who was medically retired after being injured in combat \u2014 has backing from nearly 80 senators, more than 330 House members, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is unacceptable that tens of thousands of combat-injured veterans are denied the full military benefits they earned,\u201d said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), one of the bill\u2019s lead sponsors, who characterized the offset as \u201cone of the deepest injustices in our present veterans\u2019 disability system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some lawmakers support the bill\u2019s premise, but worry about the cost: $78 billion over a decade, according to the CBO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Mike Crapo, an Idaho Republican, is one of them. In a statement provided to The War Horse, a spokesperson for Crapo said, \u201cWe owe combat-injured veterans nothing less than our full support when they return from their military service.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But his office also said Crapo is concerned about the bill\u2019s overall price tag and \u201cremains willing to work with his colleagues to address cost-related concerns.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cost previously prompted Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., to block the legislation, arguing the long-term financial impact required greater scrutiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cost question Congress hasn\u2019t resolved<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When it was introduced in 2023, the Major Richard Star Act applied only to those who were medically retired due to combat injuries and was estimated to cost about $10 billion to $13 billion over 10 years. Eligibility was later extended to an additional 255,000 medically retired veterans regardless of how they became injured, inflating costs nearly sevenfold over the same period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an effort to help it finally pass, lawmakers in June included the Major Richard Star Act as part of the Take Care of America\u2019s Veterans Act<\/a> (TCAVA), a legislative package with more than 60 veteran-related measures. The version in that bill would again limit the benefits to only those 54,000 injured in combat, according to advocates and legislative language reviewed by The War Horse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Candace Wheeler, senior director of government and legislative affairs at the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, said advocates ultimately focused on combat-injured retirees because broader proposals would \u201cballoon the cost\u201d and be harder to move through Congress. But after TCAVA failed to get a floor vote in July, its chances of passing this fiscal year are dwindling, leaving some confused about the status of the standalone bill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to congressional staff in Sen. Blumenthal\u2019s office, lawmakers intended the amended Major Richard Star Act to extend eligibility to just 1,124 additional combat-wounded veterans, but the bill\u2019s legislative language was interpreted by the DoD Office of the Actuary as applying to roughly 255,000 medically retired veterans, an estimate the Congressional Budget Office used in scoring the bill, accounting for the additional $68 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Disabled American Veterans opposes the larger bill because of its funding mechanism, which would reduce future disability claims for some conditions, including tinnitus and sleep apnea. The group said the proposal asks one group of veterans to finance benefits for another and could set a precedent for future reductions in benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe would be 100% supportive without the poison pill,\u201d said Todd Hunter, DAV\u2019s deputy national communications director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, there are two similar bills before Congress: The original targeting combat-injured veterans only, and the expanded version that would apply to a broader group of medically retired veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A career cut short five years before retirement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As lawmakers debate the cost, combat-injured veterans say they earned both their military retirement pay and disability benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After serving eight years as a Marine and spending a few years as a civilian, Fisher joined the Army. He deployed repeatedly throughout Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Panama, and elsewhere. Then, on Oct. 19, 2009, while serving as an infantryman with Task Force 16, 155th Brigade Combat Team, in Balad, Iraq, rotor wash from a nearby U.S. helicopter knocked him from a ladder during overwatch operations, ending his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For four years, Fisher lived with chronic pain, heavy medications, and repeated efforts to save his right leg. Eventually, he chose to have it amputated below the knee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe pain was unbearable,\u201d he said. \u201cThe surgeries didn\u2019t work, and I was exhausted from daily medications that I didn\u2019t want to be taking, and after all that, my right ankle was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two days after surgery, Fisher was back on his feet. Nine weeks later, he was fitted with a prosthesis and walking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have more legs than I have shoes,\u201d said Fisher, who now owns 11 prosthetic legs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within months, he was running. Eight months after surgery, he returned to service as a volunteer firefighter. Later, he became Fort Hood\u2019s first amputee civilian police officer, a job that allowed him to work alongside soldiers and train others for duties he once performed himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Will Fisher, center, served as Fort Hood\u2019s first amputee police officer in 2016, but because it was a civilian job, it did not count toward the 20 years needed to qualify for a full pension. Here, he talks with then-Deputy Police Chief Ken Lunceford and Fort Hood Police Chief Maj. Tim Heisler. (Photo by Heather Graham-Ashley, Sentinel News)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But because he served in that role as a civilian employee after medical retirement, the work did not count toward the 20 years of military service required for a full military pension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The retirement they wanted but never received<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Fisher wanted so badly to stay in the military that when the war with Iran<\/a> began earlier this year, he called the recruiter\u2019s office to ask whether the Army was taking retirees. He wanted to serve as a military police officer again, this time on active duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Fisher left the Army in 2014, he had earned a military retirement worth $2,166 a month. He has never received it. The Army assigned him a 40% disability rating during his discharge process, which made him eligible for about $2,700 a month in disability compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under a federal policy known as the VA Waiver, Fisher\u2019s disability compensation<\/a> reduces his military retirement pay dollar for dollar. Since his disability pay exceeds the value of his retirement benefit, his retirement check is wiped out. But if both benefits were paid, Fisher\u2019s monthly military-related income would be nearly $4,900.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy retirement pay was earned through my years of service,\u201d Fisher said. \u201cMy VA disability compensation is because I lost my leg serving my country. Those are two completely different things, and I don\u2019t think one should cancel out the other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fisher also earns a salary from his full-time job as a logistics manager for an appliance company. But he said the offset still affects his long-term financial stability. With the extra money, he would have more flexibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d pay off debt, save some money, and I could enjoy my family a lot more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naomi Mathis understands the strain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the former Air Force staff sergeant\u2019s convoy came under attack amid what she described as \u201ctotal chaos.\u201d Mathis witnessed the aftermath of multiple combat incidents, including the death of a fellow service member. After returning home, she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Naomi Mathis kneels beside a handmade memorial honoring Sgt. Patrick L. Griffin Jr. in Baghdad in 2003. (Photo courtesy of Naomi Mathis)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The condition led to a 100% disability rating from the VA. She was medically retired after serving 7.5 years, far short of her goal of serving at least 20 years and eventually becoming a chief master sergeant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Fisher, Mathis said the loss was not simply financial. It was the loss of a career she intended to finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy career was cut short,\u201d she said. \u201cI was not given the opportunity to serve out those 20 or 30 years. But I would have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mathis qualifies for a special combat-injury compensation fund that partially supplements the offset. Even with that assistance, the shortfall still stings: nearly $800 a month less than if she received her full retirement and disability pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With three young children at home, Mathis said financial pressure forced her back into the workforce before she had fully recovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t pay rent or feed my kids. I needed a job immediately,\u201d she said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t able to heal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mathis now serves as DAV\u2019s deputy national legislative director. She said she remains grateful for the life she built after military service, but still believes the country\u2019s promise to injured service members should not end when their careers are cut short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI signed my name on the dotted line, and I wasn\u2019t just under the impression \u2014 I was told \u2014 that the military would be there for me when I put up my boots,\u201d Mathis said. \u201cWell, they put my boots up for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Combat-injured veterans argue they shouldn\u2019t be penalized after war injuries cut their careers short, but the cost could reach $78 billion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":120939,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":25,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"4":{"categories":["veterans","pentagon-congress","news"],"primary_category":"veterans"},"5":{"categories":["veterans","pentagon-congress","news"],"primary_category":"veterans"},"6":{"categories":["veterans","pentagon-congress","news"],"primary_category":"veterans"},"7":{"categories":["veterans","pentagon-congress","news"],"primary_category":"veterans"}}},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"coauthors":[7523],"class_list":["post-154239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"SWSGFBOGYBHSZLQ4JQDWNR6V7M","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2026\/08\/06\/their-military-careers-were-cut-short-in-combat-now-theyre-fighting-congress-for-their-full-benefits\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nTheir military careers were cut short in combat. 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