Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign quietly edited Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s biography on Thursday to remove a reference to him as a “retired command sergeant major.”
Walz has fallen under scrutiny from Republicans for referring to himself as a retired command sergeant major when, in reality, he was only conditionally promoted to the rank but failed to perform the training necessary to permanently obtain it before retiring as a master sergeant in 2005, according to a statement provided by the Minnesota National Guard to Just the News on Wednesday. Harris’ website referred to Walz as a “retired command sergeant major” until at least Thursday morning, according to an archived copy of the page, but has since clarified its description to note that he once served as command sergeant major without stating that he retired as one.
“[Walz] 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,” Army Lt. Col. Kristen Augé, a Minnesota National Guard’s State public affairs officer, told Just the News. “The Soldier must complete the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Course as a condition of this promotion. Failure to meet the condition will cause demotion per AR 600 – 8 – 19,” according to Army rules.
Walz’s original biography on Harris’ campaign website called him “the son of an Army veteran and a retired Command Sergeant Major in the Army National Guard himself,” according to an archived version of the page. The current version of the website, however, calls him “the son of an Army veteran who served as a command sergeant major.”
Walz is also facing allegations that he retired from the Minnesota National Guard early to avoid deployment to Iraq, claims Democratic operatives have denied. Walz, however, knew his battalion was likely to be deployed to Iraq when he retired as he mentioned the possibility in congressional campaign materials published before his retirement, the Washington Free Beacon reported Wednesday.
“When your country calls, you are supposed to run into battle — not the other way,” retired command sergeant major Thomas Behrends, who took Walz’s place after his retirement and was deployed to Iraq, told the New York Post on Tuesday. “He had the opportunity to serve his country, and said ‘Screw you’ to the United States. That’s not who I would pick to run for vice president.”
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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