'He abandoned and walked away from his soldiers and his solemn responsibility to lead and take care of them'
Two of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s former military comrades delivered a stunning condemnation of his actions and behavior – just days before he was elected to the first term of his current post in 2018. And he was elected anyway.
Now he’s been picked as Kamala Harris’ vice presidential hopeful in the 2024 election, and the warning still stands at the West Central Tribune.
Retired National Guard Command Sgt. Majors Thomas Behrends and Paul Herr said, at the time, “The bottom line in all of this is gut wrenching and sad to explain. When the nation called, he quit. He failed to complete the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy. He failed to serve for two years following completion of the academy, which he dropped out of. He failed to serve two years after the conditional promotion to Command Sergeant Major. He failed to fulfill the full six years of the enlistment he signed on September 18th, 2001. He failed his country. He failed his state. He failed the Minnesota Army National Guard, the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion, and his fellow Soldiers. And he failed to lead by example. Shameful”
The document published at the time charged that Walz “embellished and selectively omitted facts and circumstances of his military career.”
They wrote that they had verified dates and facts with official records and those who witnessed various events.
Walz, before being governor, in 2001 re-enlisted in the Minnesota Army National Guard for six years.
Then he was picked to attend the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy, making a commitment to serve for two years after graduation or being promoted.
He then deployed to Italy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and when he returned to Minnesota was appointed to the position of Command Sergeant Major of the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion.
However, in 2004 he was photographed holding a sign at a protest outside a campaign rally for President Bush, and when his unit was informed of plans to deploy to Iraq, he quit, leaving the “battalion and its soldiers hanging; without its senior non-commissioned officer, as the battalion prepared for war.”
The two veterans said, “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.”
Ultimately his rank was reduced.
A report at RedState said the two National Guard officers exposed how Walz “lied or embellished his service record and shirked his duty.”
They charge, the report said that “he abandoned his troops when they went to Iraq.”
The report said, “He abandoned and walked away from his soldiers and his solemn responsibility to lead and take care of them. According to Behrends and Herr, Walz is hiding that part of the information from the public in an attempt to fool the electorate.”
RedState noted, “Another retired command sergeant major corroborated the stories of Behrends and Herr. CSM (Ret) Douglas L. Julin was the 34th Infantry Division Command Sergeant Major and met with Walz, along with five other battalion CSMs, in early 2005 before they deployed to Iraq. According to Julin, Walz said he would be deploying with his battalion, even after mentioning that he was going to run for Congress.”
Then, suddenly, he was gone.
On social media, a Twitter account for “Stolen Valor,” was published paperwork from Walz’s departure.
That site explained that Walz, in fact, was reduced in rank for “not completing the required educational requirements.”
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