Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) — the vice presidential candidate pick of Democrat presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris — has listed on his official biography a higher military rank than the one he ultimately retired with, drawing criticism from some veterans and accusations of stolen valor.
Walz served in the Minnesota Army National Guard and retired at the rank of master sergeant, or an E-8. However, on his official website bio, he lists a higher rank that he served at for a short period that ultimately was rescinded, as he did not complete all the requirements to serve at that rank. However, his bio implies that he retired at the rank of command sergeant major, or an E-9.
His official bio states:
After 24 years in the Army National Guard, Command Sergeant Major Walz retired from the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion in 2005. Tim won his first election to the United States House of Representatives in 2006 and was re-elected for another five terms serving Minnesota’s First Congressional District in Southern Minnesota.
The Minnesota National Guard’s State Public Affairs Officer, Army Lt. Col. Kristen Augé, confirmed to Breitbart News that Walz did not retire as an E-9. She said in an email:
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.
Two retired Army Command Sergeant Majors, Thomas Behrends and Paul Herr, wrote in a letter published November 2, 2018, in the West Central Tribune, a local news outlet, that Walz on September 17, 2004, was “conditionally promoted” to Command Sergeant Major but then later failed to meet the conditions of the promotion, which they said was later nullified.
“On September 17th, 2004 he was conditionally promoted to Command Sergeant Major. The conditions had been outlined to him when he was counseled and he signed the Statement of Agreement and Certification. If the conditions are not met, the promotion is null and void, like it never happened,” they wrote.
They then said that after his unit was issued orders to deploy to Iraq, he then quit. They wrote:
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.
On May 16th, 2005 he quit, leaving the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion and its Soldiers hanging; without its senior Non-Commissioned Officer, as the battalion prepared for war. His excuse to other leaders was that he needed to retire in order to run for congress. Which is false, according to a Department of Defense Directive, he could have run and requested permission from the Secretary of Defense before entering active duty; as many reservists have. If he had retired normally and respectfully, you would think he would have ensured his retirement documents were correctly filled out and signed, and that he would have ensured he was reduced to Master Sergeant for dropping out of the academy. Instead he waited for the paperwork to catch up to him. His official retirement document states, SOLDIER NOT AVAILABLE FOR SIGNATURE.
On September 10th, 2005 conditionally promoted Command Sergeant Major Walz was reduced to Master Sergeant. It took a while for the system to catch up to him as it was uncharted territory, literally no one quits in the position he was in, or drops out of the academy. Except him.
In November of 2005, while the battalion trained for war at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, it received an offer from retired Master Sergeant Walz. He offered to fund raise for the battalions bus trip home over Christmas that year.
The 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion was deployed for 22 months in 2006 – 2007. During this time, they were restricted by Army regulations and could not speak out against a candidate for office. In November 2006 he was elected to the House of Representatives.
They wrote:
He claims to be the highest-ranking enlisted service member ever to serve in congress. Even though he was conditionally promoted to Command Sergeant Major less than eight months, quit before his obligations were met, and was reduced to Master Sergeant for retirement. Yes, he served at that rank, but was never qualified at that rank, and will receive retirement benefits at one rank below. You be the judge.
Behrends has since spoken out about Walz on other occasions, including to Alpha News on September 6, 2022, when he slammed the governor for bailing on the deployment.
“As soon as the shots were fired in Iraq, he turned and ran the other way and hung his hat up and quit,” Behrends said.
Behrends said he replaced Walz on the deployment to Iraq after he quit.
“The public needs to know how pathetic his leadership was as a National Guardsman,” he said. “He abandoned us. What the hell kind of leader does that? As soon as the shots were fired in Iraq, he turned and ran the other way and hung his hat up and quit.”
Behrends went on to serve in Iraq on a nearly two-year deployment — while Walz ran for Congress and began calling himself “Command Sergeant Major.”
According to Alpha News, Behrends said he contacted Walz with his concerns before raising the issue publicly, sending letters to Washington in 2016, but that all the letters went unanswered.
Behrends told the outlet: “He was saying that and there were campaign letters coming in the mail saying that. They said, right on there, he’s a retired command sergeant major. Just tooting his own horn, hanging on the coattails of people that actually are command sergeant majors that went through all the process and put all the time in.”
Behrends said, “It’s stolen valor is really what it is. I don’t know of anybody else that’s done what he’s done.”
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