Tupelo, Mississippi Jan 1, 2026 (Issuewire.com) - A retired United States Navy Senior Chief based in Guam who leads 54KVeterans.org is highlighting the contrast between Senator Roger Wicker’s previous public support for the Major Richard Star Act and his recent role as the sole objection that stopped it. Combat-injured veterans are now funding billboards to keep the issue alive.
In 2021, Senator Roger Wicker cosponsored an earlier version of the Major Richard Star Act and described the fix as a commonsense way to correct an injustice for combat-injured retirees who were medically retired early and lost retired pay because of the VA offset.
“Those are two very different positions on the same bill from the same senator,” said Senior Chief Shane Junkert, USN (Ret.), founder of 54KVeterans.org. “In 2021, his own words and cosponsor record showed support. In 2025, the public record shows his objection stopped the fix he once endorsed.”
Media Coverage of the Objection
A Mississippi news report has covered Senator Roger Wicker’s objection and the billboard campaign calling attention to the stalled legislation. Billboards were funded via PassTheAct.org donations.
The Human Cost of the Reversal
The Major Richard Star Act is named for an Army combat engineer who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait and later died from lung cancer tied to burn pit exposure. The bill covers medically retired combat veterans whose careers were cut short by combat-related injuries before reaching 20 years of service.
Under current law, many of these veterans must waive retired pay dollar-for-dollar when they receive VA disability compensation. For roughly 54,000 medically retired combat veterans, VA compensation replaces, rather than supplements, retired pay.
The Star Act would end that offset for this group, allowing affected veterans to receive both the retired pay earned through service and the disability compensation tied to their injuries.
Context Regarding the Objection
On October 8, 2025, Senator Roger Wicker objected to advancing the Major Richard Star Act by unanimous consent, stopping the bill without a recorded vote.
“Leaving off the ten-year context makes the cost number sound like a one-year spike instead of a decade of payments,” Junkert said. “When the Armed Services Chair quotes the big number without the timeframe, it shapes the argument against the veterans.”
“No one is claiming the Star Act is free,” Junkert added. “The question is why a modest ten-year cost for combat-injured medical retirees is suddenly too expensive when far bigger expenditures are not.”
The New Test: S.Amdt. 4056
On December 16, 2025, Senator Richard Blumenthal filed S.Amdt. 4056 to attach the Major Richard Star Act to a must-pass defense funding bill, creating a direct path to a recorded vote.
“This amendment turns quiet procedural control into a public decision point,” Junkert said. “If the Major Richard Star Act is included in the final defense funding package, every senator will have to show where they stand—with the chair who reversed course, or with the 54,000 combat-injured retirees who have lived with this offset for years.”
About 54KVeterans.org
54KVeterans.org is a grassroots coalition of combat-injured veterans dedicated to passing the Major Richard Star Act. The organization is led by Senior Chief Shane Junkert, USN (Ret.), a decorated combat veteran who completed six deployments during his 18.5 years of service and was medically retired due to combat-related injuries. Junkert leads the effort to restore full vested retirement pay for the 54,000 veterans currently subject to the Chapter 61 offset from Guam.
Media Contact
54k Veterans Shane@54Kveterans.org 817-771-3577 PO BOX 24130 http://54KVeterans.org
