Vice President Kamala Harris’ pick to serve as her running mate is running into trouble over allegations he’s misrepresented — or outright lied about — his service in the Army National Guard.
Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) served in the National Guard for 24 years, a fact praised by his critics. But the way he has since described that service — and how he ended it — have sparked accusations that Walz misled voters and is guilty of “stolen valor.”
At issue are statements Walz made that imply he served in the war in Afghanistan (he didn’t), retired as a “command sergeant major” (also not true) and talked about the “guns he carried into war.”
Most upsetting to some veterans was his decision to leave his Minnesota National Guard unit in 2005 when he knew it was almost certain to be deployed to Iraq.
According to reporting by the Washington Free Beacon:
“As Command Sergeant Major, I have a responsibility not only to ready my battalion for Iraq, but also to serve if called on,” Walz said in a campaign statement on March 20, 2005. Just three days prior, the National Guard Public Affairs Office announced that at least part of his battalion could be shipped overseas to the Middle East in the next two years.
Walz left the National Guard that May. Two months later, his battalion was put on notice that they would be deploying to Iraq.
“He got out after he knew about the deployment? Ok, wow. And as a sergeant major? That’s even worse,” said former Ambassador and U.S. Senator Scott Brown, when learning the latest details of Walz’s story.
Brown joined the National Guard at age 19 and served for 35 years, including during his time as a U.S. senator. He rejects the argument that Walz had to resign when he did in order to run for Congress.
“When I ran for U.S. Senate, I was still in the Guard. I had service. As a U.S. senator, I conducted my National Guard training in Afghanistan,” Brown said.
According to Doug Julin, who oversaw Walz in his National Guard field artillery battalion, Walz came to him as the deployment approached and asked about his desire to run for Congress.
Julin said it was “no big deal,” and noted that members of Congress had deployed in the past.
Walz then went to Julin’s superior officers to secure his retirement.
“I would have analyzed it and challenged him. It would have been a different discussion, but he went to the higher ranks. He knew I would have told him, ‘Suck it up, we’re going,’” Julin told The Washington Post.
“Nobody wants to go to war. I didn’t want to go, but I went. The big frustration was that he let his troops down,” Julin added.
Granite State military veterans reacted to the story with a mix of outrage and disappointment.
“Absolutely disgusting,” said Sen Majority Leader Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry), who served as a Sgt. 1st Class in the United States Army Reserve. “Abandoning his unit? He’s not fit to be a leader.”
Hillsborough County Attorney John Coughlin is a military veteran, former New Hampshire National Guardsman and two-time recipient of the Bronze Star. He has been in a similar position as Walz, and he’s not impressed by how the Minnesota Democrat handled it.
Elected county attorney in 2002, his field artillery unit was called up in 2003. “I had just been elected, I had a young family — but it never occurred to me, or to any of members of my unit, not to go. These are the people you train with, you eat with, you sleep with. There was no way they were going to leave without me,” Coughlin said.
And like Brown, Coughlin finds Walz’s decision particularly egregious because of his position as a top enlisted leader.
“The command sergeant major is the top person officers rely on. Their sole job is to take care of the soldiers. I can’t imagine saying ‘I’m leaving my unit.’”
Hollie Noveletsky, a military veteran and GOP candidate in the First Congressional District primary, denounced Walz’ behavior.
“As a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves and the N.H. National Guard, I believe embellishment of one’s military record is a disservice to all who have served. For Tim Walz to claim he was ‘in combat’ when he never was, is just disgraceful.”
Chris Bright, who’s also running in the GOP NH-01 primary, added his view.
“As the only candidate in this race who has led American soldiers in a combat zone, I am deeply disturbed to hear that Tim Walz dropped his retirement papers after learning his unit was deploying to Iraq.
“As a Battalion Command Sergeant Major, he was the unit commander’s ‘right-hand man’ and would have had 600-700 soldiers looking to him for guidance, confidence, and leadership at a time when they needed him most. Those young soldiers would have undoubtedly felt nervous heading off to war and to watch their leader walk away surely impacted unit morale. Leading soldiers was one of the biggest honors of my life and I can’t follow a leader who in the hour of need shirked their sacred duty to their subordinates.”
Executive Councilor Joe Kenney is a U.S. Marine veteran of three conflicts: the Persian Gulf War, the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War. On Thursday, he visited a Gold Star family– a family who’s lost a loved one in military service — and he told NHJournal it made him think about the Walz story.
“These are families who lost someone, someone who was asked to serve, and who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. When you think about [Gov. Walz] decision not to deploy, think about it from their perspective.”
Coughlin was quick to praise Walz decision to serve. “He spent 24 years in the Guard, that’s honorable service.” But he also thinks the fact that the Harris team knew about the issue and still tapped Walz as running mate is a sign they don’t understand military culture or veterans’ attitudes.
“Whoever vetted him committed a gross miscalculation of how veterans would react, particularly those who served in Afghanistan and Iraq,” Coughlin said.
