Kamala Harris’ Campaign Scrambles to Fix VP Pick’s Biography After He Lies About Military Record, But It’s Too Late
The controversy surrounding Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s military service and rank has resurfaced, particularly as he serves as Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate in her presidential campaign. Critics, particularly retired Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Behrends, have accused Walz of “stolen valor,” claiming he fraudulently presents himself as a retired Command Sergeant Major when he actually retired as a Master Sergeant after not completing the required training to maintain the higher rank. While Walz has described himself as a retired command sergeant major, military records indicate he was demoted to master sergeant before leaving the Army in 2005. This situation has prompted updates to his official biography on Harris’s campaign website, which now clarifies that he did not retire at the higher rank he previously claimed. The issue has raised questions about Walz’s narrative regarding his military service and its implications for his political career.
Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign quietly updated the biography of running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on its website to reflect that he did not retire as a command sergeant major, as it previously said.
Politico reported that the campaign website described Walz, a National Guard veteran, as a “retired command sergeant major,” which is the highest rank an enlisted soldier can achieve in the U.S. Army.
The site now reads that he “served for 24 years, rising to the rank of Command Sergeant Major.”
Harris placed Walz’s military service front and center at their first rally together in Philadelphia on Tuesday, saying, “To his fellow veterans, he is Sgt. Maj. Walz.”
The governor has frequently described himself as a retired command sergeant major from the Army.
WOW.
Here is yet another video of Tim Walz lying about his rank as a retired Command Sergeant Major.
This one dating back to 2009. pic.twitter.com/PbVMSdd9U4
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) August 8, 2024
However, military records obtained by Alpha News in 2022, as Walz was running for re-election as governor, showed that while he did obtain the rank of command sergeant major, known as an E9, he was demoted to master sergeant, E8, because he failed to complete the requirements to keep the higher rank before leaving the Army.
Specifically, he did not graduate from the Army’s Sergeants Major Academy, among other matters.
Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Behrends told Alpha News that Walz in fact left the Army in 2005 after receiving a warning order that his unit, 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion, was to be deployed to Iraq.
“He abandoned us. … As soon as the shots were fired in Iraq, he turned and ran the other way, hung his hat up and quit,” Behrends said.
The former Minnesota National Guard soldier explained that he was next in line behind Walz in the unit to take the command sergeant major’s slot and stepped up and deployed to Iraq for nearly two years.
“[Walz] can say that he served as a command sergeant major, but he can’t say he’s a retired one, because he’s not,” Behrends said.
A spokesperson for the Minnesota National Guard in a 2022 statement to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune said, “Walz attained the rank of command sergeant major and served in that role but retired as a master sergeant in 2005 for benefit purposes due to not completing additional coursework.”
Behrends told Fox News host Laura Ingraham Wednesday night that Walz “has used the rank he never achieved in order to advance his political career.”
Ret. Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Behrends accuses @Tim_Walz of stolen valor: “He’s used the rank that he never achieved in order to, advance his political career.” #2024Election https://t.co/IyB7N1lfr1 pic.twitter.com/xYHB11DOGY
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) August 8, 2024
“He still says he’s a retired command sergeant major to this day, and he’s not,” Behrends added.
In fact, his official biography on his Minnesota governor’s website says, “Command Sergeant Major Walz retired from the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion in 2005.”
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