STORY UPDATED: check for updates below.
Did Tim Walz, Minnesota governor and Democratic Party vice presidential pick, overstate his rank in the Army National Guard and abandon his unit before it was about to deploy to Iraq? No, neither is true: The Minnesota National Guard told Lead Stories that Walz held the rank of command sergeant major when he left the Guard in 2005. He retired at the lower rank of master sergeant because he had not completed necessary military coursework to qualify for retirement benefits at the higher rank. Walz retired two months before his battalion received its deployment orders for Iraq.
The claim appeared in a post and video (archived here) on X, formerly Twitter, on August 6, 2024. The post's caption opened:
HOLY SH*T!
Minnesota National Guard Leaders Expose Tim Walz for Stolen Valor, Lying About His Rank, and Quitting When His Unit Was Deployed to Iraq.
'As soon as the shots were fired in Iraq, he turned and ran the other way and hung his hat up and quit,' said Tom Behrends, a retired command sergeant major who replaced Gov. Tim Walz on a deployment to Iraq.
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Wed Aug 7 18:59:38 2024 UTC)
The post's text continued:
When he was a congressman, you know, he bragged that he was a retired command sergeant major: 'I'm the highest-ranking person ever in the House,' and, you know, all this lie that he was telling the state of Minnesota came out after 2018. After this was exposed, they said, 'Well, he can say that he served as a command sergeant major, but he can't say he's a retired one because he's not.'
Just tooting his own horn, hanging on the coattails of people that actually are command sergeant majors, who went through all the process and put all the time in.
It's stolen valor, really, what it is.
If he went to Iraq, he'd still be hiding under his desk over there, 'cause that's just the cowardice that I saw portrayed with him.
The post provided no documentary or other independent evidence to support its claim that the Minnesota governor overstated his final rank in the National Guard or that he left his military unit as it was about to deploy to Iraq.
Minnesota National Guard
Retirement
In an August 7, 2024, email to Lead Stories, Army Lt. Col. Kristen Augé, Minnesota National Guard's state public affairs officer, provided this statement on Walz. She said (emphasis ours):
Governor Tim Walz served from April 8, 1981, to May 16, 2005. Governor Walz served in the Minnesota National Guard's 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery after transferring from the Nebraska National Guard in 1996.
While serving in Minnesota, his military occupational specialties were 13B--a cannon crewmember who operates and maintains cannons--and 13Z--field artillery senior sergeant. In Nebraska, he served as an 11Z--infantry senior sergeant, and a 71L--administrative specialist.
He held multiple positions within field artillery such as firing battery chief, operations sergeant, first sergeant, and culminated his career serving as the command sergeant major for the battalion.
The apparent confusion comes from Walz's military benefits, which were scaled back because he didn't complete all his training as a command master sergeant before he left the National Guard. Augé's statement continued (emphasis ours):
He retired as a master sergeant in 2005 for benefit purposes because he did not complete additional coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy.
Deployment to Iraq
Another assertion of the social media post was that Walz quit his unit when it was deployed to Iraq. As confirmed in the previous National Guard statement, Walz retired on May 16, 2005. In another August 7, 2024, email, Army Lt. Col. Ryan Rossman, Minnesota National Guard's director of operations, said the unit's alert that it would deploy didn't come until more than two months after Walz retired:
Minnesota National Guard's 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery received an alert order for mobilization to Iraq on July 14, 2005. The official Department of the Army mobilization order was received on August 14, 2005, and the unit mobilized on October 12, 2005.
Running for Congress
Before he retired from the National Guard, Walz launched a campaign to run for Minnesota's 1st Congressional district. He filed paperwork (archived here) with the Federal Election Commission on February 10, 2005.
Just over a month later, in an archived press release (also archived here) dated March 20, 2005, the "Tim Walz for US Congress" campaign announced that the Minnesota National Guard had received word that Walz's unit might be partially mobilized. Despite his possible call to duty in Iraq, it said Walz was still planning to run. The press release continued:
When asked about his possible deployment to Iraq Walz said, 'I do not yet know if my artillery unit will be part of this mobilization and I am unable to comment further on specifics of the deployment.'
Although his tour of duty in Iraq might coincide with his campaign for Minnesota's 1st Congressional seat, Walz is determined to stay in the race. 'As Command Sergeant Major I have a responsibility not only to ready my battalion for Iraq, but also to serve if called on. I am dedicated to serving my country to the best of my ability, whether that is in Washington DC or in Iraq.'
'I don't want to speculate on what shape my campaign will take if I am deployed, but I have no plans to drop out of the race. I am fortunate to have a strong group of enthusiastic supporters and a very dedicated and intelligent wife. Both will be a major part of my campaign, whether I am in Minnesota or Iraq.'
Harris campaign
The presidential campaign of Kamala Harris also provided a statement about Walz to Lead Stories. A separate August 7, 2024, email said:
After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he chaired Veterans Affairs and was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform - and as Vice President of the United States he will continue to be a relentless champion for our veterans and military families.
Read more
Lead Stories has debunked other claims related to the 2024 presidential election, which can be read here.
Updates:
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2024-08-08T18:00:20Z 2024-08-08T18:00:20Z Adds details on the timeline of Tim Walz running for Congress.
