Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is less than two weeks into his tenure as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 presidential election. Since joining the Democratic ticket, the Minnesota governor’s military rank, and his service, have become the subject of national discussion.
Alpha News first reported on Walz’s military record in 2022 and spoke with three command sergeants major who said the governor dodged a deployment to Iraq.
During Walz’s time in the military, he received a promotion to the rank of command sergeant major. However, Walz retired before completing the requisite training and coursework to retain that rank. As such, the Minnesota National Guard has stated that Walz is a retired master sergeant and he currently receives a pension at that rank. Therefore, he is not permitted to refer to himself as a retired command sergeant major.
In fact, the Harris-Walz campaign website recently updated their biography of Walz to reflect that he is not a retired command sergeant major.
John Kolb, a retired commander who served in the Minnesota National Guard, recently issued a strong rebuke of Walz’s use of the command sergeant major title.
“He did not earn the rank or successfully complete any assignment as [a command sergeant major],” said Kolb. “It is an affront to the Noncomissioned Officer Corps that he continues to glom onto the title. I can sit in the cockpit of an airplane, it does not make me a pilot. Similarly, when the demands of service and leadership at the highest level got real, he chose another path.”
Repeatedly throughout his career, Walz has referred to himself as a retired command sergeant major.
- During his first campaign for Congress in 2006, Walz referred to himself as a “retired command sergeant major” at a campaign event for veterans who were running for Congress.
- At a post-election DNC event in 2006, Walz said he “retired as a command sergeant major.”
- As a congressman representing southern Minnesota, Walz’s office issued “challenge coins” that included the command sergeant major insignia.
- In 2007, Congressman Walz spoke at a town hall event and said he was a “retired command sergeant major.”
- In a video message to members of the Minnesota National Guard who were about to deploy to Iraq, Walz identified himself as a “retired command sergeant major.”
During his 24 years in the National Guard, Walz was deployed twice to Europe. One of those deployments was to Italy, which he has said was “in support of” Operation Enduring Freedom, America’s war in Afghanistan. However, Walz never went to Afghanistan and never saw combat.
Despite this, Walz has seemingly attempted to blur the line regarding his role in Operation Enduring Freedom and has failed to correct others who have mischaracterized his service.
- A press release announcing his campaign for Congress in 2006 referred to Walz as “a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom,” a title most associate with serving in Afghanistan.
- During the 2004 presidential election, Walz was photographed carrying a sign which said “Enduring Freedom Veterans for Kerry!”
- A 2006 endorsement of Walz from former presidential candidate and then-U.S. Sen. John Kerry, a Vietnam veteran, described Walz as having “served our country in Operation Enduring Freedom.” The letter was posted on Walz’s campaign website.
- At a Feb. 17, 2007 press conference in Washington, D.C., then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced Walz as “Command Sergeant Major Tim Walz” and said of Walz, “I want him to know how much we all appreciate his service to our country; whether it’s in the classroom or on the battlefield.” Walz did not correct Pelosi.
- A book called “Winning Your Election the Wellstone Way” refers to Walz as a “longtime National Guardsman who served in Afghanistan.” Walz endorsed the book.
- In an October 2009 interview on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, then-Congressman Walz was interviewed about American policy in Afghanistan alongside retired General Barry McCaffrey, MSNBC’s military analyst. During that interview, General McCaffrey referred to Walz as a “retired Army command sergeant major with time in combat.” The available video of that interview does not show Walz correcting the general.
- In a 2016 interview on C-SPAN, then-Congressman Walz was introduced on the program as the “highest ranking enlisted soldier ever to serve in Congress, enlisted in the Army National Guard at 17, retired 24 years later as Command Sergeant Major, and served with his battalion in Operating [sic] Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.” Walz did not correct the interviewer about his record.
Here is another video of Tim Walz nodding along about his rank of Command Sergeant Major.
Walz also doesn’t correct her when she states he served in Afghanistan with his battalion. pic.twitter.com/ao3Z9bjy7c
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) August 10, 2024
Later in that interview, Walz did note that his National Guard unit spent time in Europe, but did not clarify that he was not in Afghanistan. Walz also referred to himself as a sergeant major in that interview.
- In 2017, then-Congressman Walz was running to become governor of Minnesota. Speaking at a campaign event, Walz was talking about gun control and said, “We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at.”
The Harris campaign has since released a statement saying Walz “misspoke” when he referred to himself as having carried weapons in war.
“These guys are even attacking me for my record of service. And I just want to say, I’m proud to have served my country, and I always will be,” Walz said during a campaign event Tuesday before addressing Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance.
“I’m going to say it again as clearly as I can: I am damn proud of my service to this country. And I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s service record,” he said. “To anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I just have a few simple words: Thank you for your service and sacrifice.”
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
