Controversy over Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s military service record is continuing to intensify, with prominent Republicans now accusing Vice President Kamala Harris’ new running mate of stolen valor. In the short time since Walz joined the Democratic ticket, details of the governor’s characterization of his 24 years in the military, claims about his rank, and his departure from the Army National Guard have been called into question, becoming a focal point of the campaign.
As Valuetainment previously reported, accusations of stolen valor against Walz began following resurfaced reports that he had retired from his National Guard unit in 2005, launching his run for Congress just months before his fellow guardsmen deployed to Iraq. This raised questions about past comments Walz has made suggesting that he carried “weapons of war” while “in war,” qualifying him to discuss gun control.
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
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In a statement to Just The News, the Minnesota National Guard contradicted Walz’s own claims about his rank when he retired, indicating that he was a master sergeant, not a command sergeant major as the governor claimed in his official biography on the Minnesota government’s website (archived here). While Walz did hold that rank at one point, his retirement violated a stipulation of his conditional promotion, resulting in a demotion back to his previous rank upon his separation.
While Walz did deploy with his unit in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, he was stationed in Italy, not Afghanistan. A Bloomberg News article published on Tuesday incorrectly claimed that he had been sent to Iraq in support of OEF (impossible, given that the operation did not take place there), but the error was edited on Wednesday to reflect the correct information. The outlet did not state whether the error was the result of a misunderstanding by the reporter or deliberate embellishment by Walz.
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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