Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is being accused of cowardice and lying about his service record while he was serving in the Minnesota National Guard before his time as governor. In a letter to the editor of the West Central Tribune dated November 2, 2018, retired Command Sergeants Major Thomas Behrends and Paul Herr alleged that Walz lied or embellished his service record and shirked his duty as the senior enlisted leader of a Minnesota National Guard unit as it was about to be deployed to Iraq in 2005. 

We, retired Command Sergeants Major of the Minnesota National Guard, feel it is our duty and responsibility to bring forth the truth as we know it concerning his service record. So, we have put together a timeline of his service post 9/11. To the best of our knowledge, this information is completely true, having been verified by all those who served in positions with first hand knowledge of the facts and circumstances of his service and departure from the Minnesota National Guard. Many of the dates and time frames are from his official discharge document and the reduction order reducing him to Master Sergeant.

Governor Walz enlisted in the Minnesota National Guard in 1981 and served for 24 years, obtaining the rank of Sergeant Major. However, he was reduced in rank to Master Sergeant in September 2005 after failing to complete the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy. But that is just the end of his military career; according to Herr and Behrends, Tim Walz did other shameful things, and something far worse -- he abandoned his troops when they went to Iraq. 

In September 2001, then First Sergeant Walz reenlisted in the Minnesota National Guard for six years and was selected to attend the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy (USASMA) in early 2003. Attending this course is mandatory for all senior enlisted members who intend to earn the promotion to the rank of Sergeant Major. The course consists of two years of correspondence coursework, followed by a two-week in-person phase at Fort Bliss, Texas. When a senior enlisted member accepts the invitation to the school, they agree to several stipulations, which include the possibility of being separated from the service if a person fails the course or that any failure to attend the course will result in an automatic reduction in rank to Master Sergeant. All participants must sign an agreement upon enrollment that they agree and abide by these stipulations. The USASMA is a college-level course and is funded by taxpayer money, so the military needs to ensure that the taxpayer gets a return on their investment. 

In the summer of 2003, Walz deployed with the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion in support of Operation Enduring Freedom to Italy. The unit's mission was to augment the security forces of the United States Air Force Europe and take over responsibility for airbase security. However, the battalion did not replace any American unit or forces so they could deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan. After returning to Minnesota from that deployment in the spring of 2004, Walz was appointed to serve in the position of the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion Command Sergeant Major; however, he was not promoted to that rank. It is common for service members, especially in the Army and Marine Corps, to serve in positions of command without the associating rank. It is done either as a way to fill gaps until another member with the rank can assume the position or that individual will soon be promoted to the rank associated with the position. 

Even after being seen and photographed holding a sign at a protest outside of a President George W. Bush campaign rally in southern Minnesota in August 2004, Walz was selected to serve as the battalion's Command Sergeant Major. 

In ‘04, I worked for the MNGOP. President Bush visited Mankota on August 4, 2004, and I took pictures of protesters outside the event. Tim Walz (pictured on the far-right) protested Bush’s visit to Minnesota. The thread below from Walz about his role at Bush’s event is dishonest. https://t.co/rEpzoF0yE9 pic.twitter.com/ygLiIEG4p1

— Michael Brodkorb (@mbrodkorb) August 17, 2020

On September 17th, 2004, Walz was conditionally promoted, or frocked, to Command Sergeant Major. When a service member is conditionally promoted or frocked, it means that while they rate the title of Command Sergeant Major and could wear that rank, they are not entitled to the pay yet. When Walz was given that promotion, he signed and initialed the Statement of Agreement and Certification for the USASMA, which meant that if Walz failed to comply with the conditions, his promotion would be null and void as if it never happened. 

When Walz and his battalion received warning orders that he, along with the battalion, would need to prepare for activation and mobilization for deployment to Iraq in early 2005, Walz committed the ultimate sin. He quit on his soldiers. 

On May 16th, 2005 he quit, leaving the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion and its Soldiers hanging; without its senior Non-Commissioned Officer, as the battalion prepared for war. His excuse to other leaders was that he needed to retire in order to run for congress. Which is false, according to a Department of Defense Directive, he could have run and requested permission from the Secretary of Defense before entering active duty; as many reservists have. If he had retired normally and respectfully, you would think he would have ensured his retirement documents were correctly filled out and signed, and that he would have ensured he was reduced to Master Sergeant for dropping out of the academy. Instead he waited for the paperwork to catch up to him. His official retirement document states, SOLDIER NOT AVAILABLE FOR SIGNATURE.

On September 10th, Tim Walz was demoted and reduced in rank to Master Sergeant. He abandoned and walked away from his soldiers and his solemn responsibility to lead and take care of them. According to Behrends and Herr, Walz is hiding that part of the information from the public in an attempt to fool the electorate. 

The 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion was deployed for 22 months in 2006 - 2007. During this time, they were restricted by Army regulations and could not speak out against a candidate for office. In November 2006 he was elected to the House of Representatives. He claims to be the highest-ranking enlisted service member ever to serve in congress. Even though he was conditionally promoted to Command Sergeant Major less than eight months, quit before his obligations were met, and was reduced to Master Sergeant for retirement. Yes, he served at that rank, but was never qualified at that rank, and will receive retirement benefits at one rank below. 

In response to another letter to the editor of the West Central Tribune in 2006, Walz falsely claimed that he reenlisted for FOUR years and not six, and claimed he retired "before his battalion was deployed to Iraq" to run for Congress.  

According to his official Report of Separation and Record of Service, he re-enlisted for six years on September 18th, 2001. However, in his response he says that he re-enlisted for four years, conveniently retiring a year before his battalion was deployed to Iraq. Even if he had re-enlisted for four years following Sept.11, his retirement date would have been September 18th, 2005. Why then did he "retire" on May 16th, 2005, before his supposed four-year enlistment was up? And he makes it sound like he "retired" a year before his battalion deployed to Iraq; when in reality he knew when he "retired" that the battalion would be deployed to Iraq.

Another retired Command Sergeant Major corroborated the stories of Behrends and Herr. CSM (Ret) Douglas L. Julin was the 34th Infantry Division Command Sergeant Major and met with Walz, along with five other battalion CSM's, in early 2005 before they deployed to Iraq. According to Julin, Walz said he would be deploying with his battalion, even after mentioning that he was going to run for Congress. 

“I’m going forward,” Julin recalls Walz saying. “Then out of nowhere in June of 2005, Tom Behrends is there as the new CSM.” Julin said he was most upset with how it was handled because Walz didn’t come to him as brigade command sergeant major, the position he held at the time. “He went around my authority to get out of the position. I probably would have told him ‘No, you’re going on the deployment,’” Julin said.

RedState has reached out to Governor Walz for comment; however, we did not receive a reply prior to the publication of this article.

UPDATED 2:20 PM 8/6/24:

The Twitter account "Stolen Valor" has published Walz's discharge document and additional information. In a thread, they write:

I am currently being flooded with questions about Tim Walz's true retired rank and whether he was demoted from CSM. I have obtained his NGB22, which indicates his retired rank as CSM. To confirm the accuracy of this information, I am waiting for his complete OMPF and DD214s to ascertain if there were any changes to his rank after retirement. It is possible he was demoted after retirement if he didn’t complete the required training , but his NGB22 that I have on hand does not indicate that. If he was demoted there will be an order in his OMPF indicating the reduction in rank. The article that has been circulating is labeled as a 'Paid Endorsement,' so I cannot rely on it as a source of facts. I will provide more details once I have gathered all the necessary information and paperwork. 

I received a partial follow up on the NGB22. After the NGB22 was issued, he was “Administratively” reduced for not completing the required educational requirements. So he did hold the rank of CSM, but was subsequently reduced for this reason and receives retired pay for the rank of MSG. There were no disciplinary reasons for the reduction. According to the PAO for the Minnesota National Guard, they said it is legitimate for Walz to say he served as a CSM. They said the rank changed because Walz retired before completing coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy along with other requirements associated with his promotion.As far as deployments, I am awaiting more records but it doesn’t seem he deployed to a combat zone during his service. Will follow up when I have more information.

Here is the document.