The longer the drama about Kamala Harris's ill-conceived choice for her running mate drags out, the more unsavory the story becomes.
When Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was first announced as Kamala's selection, he was billed as a high school teacher (albeit one rather interested in the sex lives of his students) and the "senior enlisted" veteran elected to Congress. Within hours of that announcement, his military service was looking less and less honorable.
Two of his former peers weighed in on the totality of the circumstances of his service; see UPDATED: MN Gov. Tim Walz Accused of Cowardice and Embellishment of Army Service Record by Former Peers. Then a video surfaced of Walz claiming to be a combat veteran; see Tim Walz Goes Full Metal Stolen Valor in Anti-Gun Rant. Along the way, the left and the media tried to claim that Walz was being criticized for being a National Guardsman (he wasn't), and that JD Vance wasn't a real combat veteran (he is).
BACKGROUND:
NEW: The Tim Walz Stolen Valor Scandal Just Got Much Worse Following Bombshell Report
As Walz's Military Record Combusts Under Casual Scrutiny, the Left Goes for Whataboutism
Tim Walz's Campaign Claimed He Was Going to Iraq Even As He Was in the Process of Deserting His Men
After Ignoring the Story for a Week, the Press Clean-Up Crew Arrives to Protect Tim Walz
The crux of the matter is not whether Walz is a combat veteran. That is irrelevant. Most of the people who served in the military since 9/11 are not combat veterans. As somebody famous once said, "Many are called, but few are chosen." In fact, most will have done just what George Patton didn't want to.
Along the way, the Harris-Walz campaign has walked back Walz's biography and claims.
BACKGROUND:
Harris Campaign Finally Responds to Tim Walz Stolen Valor Scandal With Pathetic Statement
Harris Team Scrambles to Quietly 'Edit' Military Claims in Walz Campaign Bio
Another thing has become obvious. Whenever anyone who served with Vance is asked about his service, they are very complimentary. The former Marines who served with Vance liked him and still like him even though their politics differ; see A Tale of Two Veterans: What the Service of Walz and Vance Tells Us About the Men. His former battalion commander put to rest the "he's not a combat veteran" slur; see WATCH: 'Noxious' CNN Host Brianna Keilar Has to Walk Back Comments Critical of JD Vance's Service Record – RedState.
The opposite is true of Walz. His military record was examined because two of his peers blew the whistle on his self-serving cowardice. When the brigade sergeant major, Walz's superior in the Noncommissioned Officer support channel, was interviewed, CNN abruptly terminated the damning testimony; see BOMBSHELL: Tim Walz's Former Superior Goes on CNN, Delivers Devastating Testimony.
Now, in virtual chef's kiss to the controversy, the chaplain of Walz's battalion has offered his commentary.
Army battalion chaplains are a mixed bag. The chaplain in my first battalion had one leg about an inch shorter than the other from being shot down while accompanying a troop of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment on an air assault in Vietnam — but he still ran PT with the trainees. On one memorable occasion, he yelled at a trainee to never come back to his office with another bulls*** problem. He was one of the good guys.
The battalion chaplain, when I was a company commander, was a Filipino Catholic whose family was prominent in the counterinsurgency against communist guerillas in Mindanao. When one of my wise-ass troopers asked him how he rationalized being a priest in an organization dedicated to killing people and breaking things, he counseled that if you were killing communists, it didn't matter because they were atheists, and atheists don't have souls, so they don't count. He was another of the good guys. But on the other side of the ledger, you have guys who set up shop in the base chapel during a deployment and then complain to division staff that no one came to services (the battalion commander fired this guy). And you have the guys who think they are protecting the oppressed workers from THE MAN and get involved in every little skirmish between soldiers and their chain of command.
When retired Captain Corey Bjertness, chaplain for 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery, was contacted about Walz's retirement fracas, he was pretty succinct, "In our world, to drop out after a WARNORD [warning order] is issued is cowardly, especially for a senior enlisted guy.”
Walz had found out in the autumn of 2004 that his battalion was slated to deploy to Iraq. As late as March 2005, Walz and his congressional campaign were saying that Walz was headed to Iraq with his battalion. Then, in May, Walz suddenly retired, having, according to the brigade sergeant major, gone around his entire chain of command and pulled some strings in the good old boy network.
So far, we have the perceptions of Walz's peers, his brigade sergeant major, and the battalion chaplain. They are unanimous. His former commander has yet to say anything, and that speaks volumes. He's not hard to find, but no one has taken the trouble to find him.
Maybe next, someone should interview the families of some of the kids in Walz's battalion who were killed while he was safe at home.
Walz’s old unit, whose main job was running security for US convoys in Iraq, suffered three casualties during the deployment he missed — including Kyle Miller, 19, who joined the National Guard while still in high school, and David Berry, 37.
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