Kamala Harris’ VP choice Tim Walz is receiving criticism for quitting the Army National Guard in 2005 just before his unit was deployed to Iraq. A letter has surfaced from 2005 written by Thomas Behrends, the man who replaced him. “Tim Walz has embellished and selectively omitted facts and circumstances of his military career for years,” the letter begins. He details a summary of Walz’s career in the National Guard spanning from 2001 to 2005, and then expands on the context of his retirement. Behrends writes:
“In early 2005, a warning order was issued to the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion, which included the position he was serving in, to prepare to be mobilized for active duty for a deployment to Iraq. Between the time the warning order was given and his ‘retirement,’ he told the Brigade Commander Sergeant Major not to worry, that he would be going on the mission. It appears that was a lie.”
Here is an official statement by CSM Thomas Behrends, who stepped up into the position that Tim Walz bailed from prior to the deployment. pic.twitter.com/wlPpZPWjM0
— Philosophic Warrior (@SRAlsultani) August 6, 2024
Behrends was interviewed about Walz’s military career by Alpha News Minnesota in 2022.
In 2005, Tim Walz abruptly quit the Army National Guard to run for Congress right before his unit was deployed to Iraq.
The Guardsman who took his place told @AlphaNewsMN in 2022 that Walz said he would be going on the deployment before leaving them.
"He abandoned us." pic.twitter.com/SOb2lk8zTu
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 6, 2024
Another National Guard member who served alongside Tim Walz has corroborated some of Behrends’ account, saying Walz “left his troops high and dry” by retiring before their deployment. Paul Herr, who would later become Command Sergeant Major, claimed that Walz had initially indicated in meetings that he would be going on the deployment.
A man on X has claimed to be a member of the unit that Walz “bailed on,” posting a photo of himself in Iraq on the deployment in question.
Here I am on our Iraq deployment with the Minnesota Army National Guard, the very same deployment @Tim_Walz bailed on. https://t.co/FNEhq3FHFM pic.twitter.com/unfNptN2Oi
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) August 7, 2024
Video has surfaced of Walz claiming to have handled “weapons of war” in a “war,” while speaking at what appears to be a small political event.
Here Walz is stumping for banning your guns and at the end of his rant, he claims he carried "weapons of war" "in war". Everything I can find about him says he didn't serve in combat and it's being reported when war came, he dodged deployment. pic.twitter.com/79TlC7aloB
— Military Arms (@MAC_Arms) August 7, 2024
Donald Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance took aim at Walz, saying in a speech: “When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq you know what he did? He dropped out of the army and allowed his unit to go without him, a fact that he’s been criticized for aggressively by a lot of the people he served with.”
I've looked everywhere to hear the other side of this story and have yet to find it. Is this as black and white as it sounds? @GovTimWalz unit got deployed to Iraq and he just bounced to run for Congress? pic.twitter.com/wl6KR9Xg0l
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) August 7, 2024
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was formally announced as Kamala Harris’ running mate on Tuesday. Walz, 60, spent 24 years in the Army National Guard, followed by a 10-year stint in Congress representing a rural district in southern Minnesota. He launched his first gubernatorial campaign in 2018 and has served two terms since then. Initially positioning himself as a moderate, Walz has overseen a sweeping progressive agenda that has moved his state firmly to the left.
In addition to legislation giving illegal immigrants driver’s licenses, legalizing recreational marijuana, expanding abortion access, and authorizing gender transitions for children,Walz was also governor during the violent George Floyd riots in the summer of 2020, which began in his state. The protests resulted in at least two deaths and $500 million in damages to the city, and Walz earned criticism from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who said the governor had deliberately waited to deploy the National Guard.
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