Another Tim Walz Service Story Gets Debunked
Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, has faced intense scrutiny recently over the legitimacy of his military service record, which he has often touted as a prominent accolade. Recently, a new lie has been exposed about his military service, where Walz claimed in a false story that he re-enlisted in the National Guard immediately after the events of September 11, 2001.
The Walz-Harris campaign has repeatedly claimed the Democratic governor re-enlisted instead of pursuing retirement after 20 years of service in an act of patriotic service when the Twin Towers fell, killing thousands in the violent 9/11 terror attack. However, it was determined that Walz was set to retire until the following year, implying his re-enlistment was not because of 9/11.
Walz claimed in a 2009 interview that his retirement was scheduled for the very week of September 11, 2001. “My 20 years was actually, ironically enough, up that week of September 11, 2001, because of the time I had off and made up, so I reenlisted like, I think, the vast majority people did with a real sense of uncertainty but … a real sense of wanting to do something,” Walz said at the time.
Harris’ running mate has also been criticized for his decision to retire only two months after his unit received a notice of deployment to Iraq. Walz has maintained that his decision was necessary to pursue running for Congress. “After completing 20 years of service in 2001, I re-enlisted to serve our country for an additional four years following Sept. 11 and retired the year before my battalion was deployed to Iraq to run for Congress,” he said, after a veteran questioned him about the retirement.
Furthermore, Minnesota National Guard’s Director of Manpower and Personnel, Col. Ryan Cochran, released a statement regarding Walz’s retirement date. According to Cochran, records show that Walz was not eligible to retire until 2002. While Walz could have certainly been motivated by the 9/11 attacks, it is false for him to claim that he forwent retirement to serve at the time.
Cochran said, “Governor Tim Walz received his notification of eligibility for retirement on August 3, 2002. He was promoted to sergeant major (E-9) on September 17, 2004, and immediately began serving as the command sergeant major for the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery while his packet was submitted to the National Guard Bureau to appoint him to command sergeant major (E-9). Once approved by NGB, he was laterally appointed to command sergeant major (E-9) on April 1, 2005. He retired from the Minnesota National Guard on May 16, 2005. Our records do not indicate when he made his request to retire. Leadership reviews and approves all requests to retire. He was administratively reduced to master sergeant (E-8) on May 15, 2005, because he did not complete all required U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy coursework.”
The American Tribune recently reported on 50 Congressional Republicans signing a letter condemning Walz over his lies about his military service. Rep. Mast opened the letter, claiming, “The Office of the Vice President is a position that requires the trust of the American people and a solemn commitment to duty on behalf of the United States of America. As veterans who have served our nation, we feel compelled to address your egregious misrepresentations and urge you to come clean to the American people.”
Featured image credit: Office of Governor Tim Walz & Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, PDM-owner, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Governor_Tim_Walz_at_Bemidji_Steel.jpg