Is it true that Tim Walz dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to deploy without him? Can someone please verify this? JD Vance accuses Tim Walz of 'lying' about military service: 'Stolen valor garbage' Walz abandoned his unit before they shipped out to Iraq, Vance says August 7, 2024 Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz of dodging his military service and misleading the country about his veteran status on Wednesday. Vance made the statement while taking questions from reporters at a campaign rally in Detroit. A reporter asked Vance about Walz' attempt to frame him as a member of the elite who attended an Ivy League school.Yea "I came from a family where nobody in my family had ever gone to law school. I grew up in a poor family. The fact that Tim Walz wants to turn it into a bad thing, that I actually worked myself through college, through law school and made something myself – to me, that's the American dream. And if Tim Walz wants to insult it, I think that's frankly pretty bizarre," Vance said before launching into an attack on Walz. "As a marine who served his country in uniform when the United States Marine Corps, when the United States of America asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it. I did what they asked me to do it, and I did it honorably," he said. "When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the army and allowed his unit to go without him, a fact that he's been criticized for aggressively by a lot of the people that he served with." Vance continued, "I think it's shameful to prepare your unit to go to Iraq, to make a promise that you're going to follow through, and then to drop out right before you actually have to go." Vance went on to highlight comments from Walz on gun control, saying the governor had used his questionable military history in an attempt to push gun restrictions. "He said, 'We shouldn't allow weapons that I used in war to be on America's streets.' Well, I wonder, Tim Walz, when were you ever in war? When was this? What was this weapon that you carried into war, given that you abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq, and he has not spent a day in a combat zone? What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen Valor garbage," Vance said. Vance also urged reporters to hold Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris accountable. Harris has not taken questions from the press in the 17 days since President Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed her. Former President Trump has accused Harris of hiding behind her teleprompter even as Biden "hid in his basement." https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jd...g-about-military-service-stolen-valor-garbage
Uh-oh... It appears to be valid. If so, this is an unforgivable sin for someone who wants to be a leader of our nation. To Combat Veterans Like Me, Tim Walz's Abandonment of His Unit Is Unforgivable - OPINION August 6, 2024 In the coming days and weeks, you will hear a lot about Tim Walz. You'll hear about his leadership, you'll hear about his time in office, and you'll hear about his military service. But here's the truth you won't hear from the mainstream media: Tim Walz abandoned his men before a combat deployment and he abandoned his city when it was literally on fire. That's the kind of leader Tim Walz truly is. You're already no doubt hearing about how Walz spent 24 years in the Army National Guard and retired as a command sergeant major. He is fond of referring to himself as the highest-ranking enlisted soldier to serve in Congress. Here's the truth: He indeed spent 24 years as an enlisted soldier in the Minnesota National Guard. As far as I can tell, he deployed once to Italy and once to Norway. But when it was finally his turn to deploy in the actual Global War on Terror, Walz instead chose his own aspirations over leadership. In a letter posted to Facebook in 2018, veterans from his unit said Walz retired from the National Guard after learning his battalion would be deployed to Iraq—though he assured his troops he would join them. Walz would have been the Battalion Command Sergeant Major, the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer and arguably the most important leader in his unit. And in the moment they needed him most, when they were about to deploy to Iraq, Walz chose to abandon his men to run for Congress. According to sources within the unit, three of his soldiers died on that deployment. This isn't a leader. This is a man who uses others to further his own ambitions, then discards them when they become inconvenient. He abandoned his men and left the military before completing the school necessary to become a Command Sergeant Major—though this hasn't stopped him from using the title on the Minnesota government site in his bio. To me as a combat veteran, this kind of abdication of leadership is unforgivable. It's the true measure of the man, and all I need to know about him. But this wasn't his only failure of leadership. He did the same thing when it came to the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots. After allowing the largest city in his state to be overrun by violent protestors who burned entire districts to the ground, Walz scoffed at the mayor's request for National Guard support, referring to the Minnesota National Guard as a bunch of "19 year old cooks." Were it anyone else, they could plead ignorant. But this was an unforgiveable error for a 24-year veteran of the same State's Guard. Having served, Walz should have known that the Minnesota National Guard boasts 180 Military Police in the 34th Military Police Company and more in the 257th Military Police Company, as well as Air National Guard Security Forces, an infantry battalion, and a cavalry regiment. The National Guard Reaction Force is on standby for rapid deployments in natural disasters and civil unrest scenarios. And still, he refused to deploy his Guard to protect his residents. Instead of holding responsible those who destroyed 1,500 businesses and buildings, caused $500 million in damage, and killed three people, he turned his ire on the police. Walz, like his running mate Kamala Harris, supported the Minnesota Freedom Fund, which bailed domestic terrorists out of jail after their arrests. Walz continued by supporting defund the police movements, resulting in a 70 percent rise in violent crime and a greater than 500 percent rise in carjackings. Are you starting to see a trend? Walz isn't a leader. He's a progressive. Leadership is decisive and accountable. Walz cuts and runs, then lies and hides. In the end, no matter what you hear about Tim Walz, this is the truth: When his men needed him before what would have been his only combat deployment, he was nowhere to be found. He bailed on them to chase political aspirations and three of them died. When his state needed him, he was nowhere to be found. He waited days to call in the National Guard, froze in panic, and then three of his citizens died. And now we're expected to believe that when we need Tim Walz the most, when the fate of the country is on the line, he will be there for us. History shows us that this is too great a lie to believe. Dan Hollaway is a veteran of the 82nd Airborne and holds a Master's in Homeland Security from Penn State University. He is the host of Drinkin' Bros Podcast and the Citizen Podcast. This isn't leadership; it's pandering to extremists to protect his personal ambition. https://www.newsweek.com/combat-vet...donment-his-unit-unforgivable-opinion-1935591
OK. It's verified. Walz needs to rescind his acceptance to be Kamaltoe's running mate. We don't need a phony, stolen valor liar running our nation. For nearly the last four years, we've been led by a liar. We don't need more lies on top of lies from these frauds who want only power. Walz ‘Embellished And Selectively Omitted Facts’ About His Military Career: Retired National Guardsmen August 6, 2024 Vice President Kamala Harris picked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate on Tuesday, and will likely emphasize his military service as part of their campaign. But when Walz was running for governor in 2018, former members of the National Guard spoke out about his service, with a retired command sergeant major saying he “embellished and selectively omitted facts of his military career for years.” In an open letter posted to Facebook that year, retired Command Sergeants Major Thomas Behrends and Paul Herr wrote that Walz retired just a few months after receiving a warning order that his battalion would be deployed to Iraq – even though he told military personnel he would be going on the mission. “On May 16th, 2005, [Walz] quit, betraying his country, leaving the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion and its Soldiers hanging; without its senior Non-Commissioned Officer, as the battalion prepared for war,” Behrends and Herr wrote. The pair wrote that Walz said he needed to retire to run for Congress, but this was untrue. Walz could have run for Congress and requested permission from the Secretary of Defense before he entered active duty, the pair claimed. “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,” the two wrote. “Instead he slithered out the door and waited for the paperwork to catch up to him.” They noted that his official retirement document says “soldier not available for signature.” Walz’s sudden retirement complicated his selection to the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy, Behrends and Herr wrote. Once someone accepts enrollment, they agree to three stipulations: to serve two years after graduation from the academy or promotion, that failing the course could result in being kicked out of the military, and that they will be reduced to Master Sergeant if they don’t complete the course. Walz wasn’t promoted to Command Sergeant Major until September 17, 2004. A month earlier, he was photographed holding a protest sign outside a rally for President George W. Bush’s re-election campaign, though it doesn’t seem as though the military noticed or disciplined him. Less than a year after his promotion, Walz retired, meaning his promotion was nullified since he broke the agreement he signed when entering the academy. On September 10,2005, Walz was reduced to Master Sergeant. As Behrends and Herr wrote, “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.” In November 2005, Walz reached out to his former battalion as it was preparing for war. He offered to hold a fundraiser for their bus trip home over Christmas. “The same Soldiers he had abandoned just months before, trying to buy their votes,” Behrends and Herr wrote. These are not the only two to call out Walz’s service. According to Behrends and Herr, Tom Hagen, an Iraq war veteran, wrote a letter to the Winona Daily News calling Walz’s retirement “disturbing”. “But even more disturbing is the fact that Walz quickly retired after learning that his unit —southern Minnesota’s 1-125 FA Battalion — would be sent to Iraq,” Hagen wrote in the letter, according to Behrends and Herr. “For Tim Walz to abandon his fellow soldiers and quit when they needed experienced leadership most is disheartening. It dishonors those brave American men and women who did answer their nation’s call and who continue to serve, fight and unfortunately die in harm’s way for us.” The letter prompted a scathing response from Walz, who defended his service record. “After completing 20 years of service in 2001, I re-enlisted to serve our country for an additional four years following Sept. 11 and retired the year before my battalion was deployed to Iraq in order to run for Congress,” Walz said. “I’m proud of the 24 years I served our country in the Army National Guard. There’s a code of honor among those who’ve served, and normally this type of partisan political attack comes only from one who’s never worn a uniform.” Behrends and Herr note that Walz’s official Report of Separation and Record of Service state that Walz re-enlisted on September 18, 2001, for six years. Walz said in his response to Hagen that he only re-enlisted for four years, which would have made his retirement date September 18, 2005 – four months later than when he actually retired. “The bottom line in all of this is gut wrenching and sad to explain,” Behrends and Herr concluded. “When the nation called, he quit.” https://www.dailywire.com/news/walz...is-military-career-retired-national-guardsmen
Yep.... That did happen so I was told just this morning from an "inside source"....I considered posting it, but I only had word of mouth and didn't have facts. What a stand-up guy...
I understand the politics hyperbole, but the man did serve in the National Guard for 20+ years. He deployed where he was ordered and did what is required of weekend warriors. Yes, it was not the everyday slog of the full time Troops. But, he was eligible to retire, and many did retire when eligible in lieu of deploying to a combat zone. I don't consider it stolen valor, and that is a little too strong, and I would expect Sen. Vance probably knows this, but being human, was responding to a cheap shot (actually 7 cheap shots that I counted) in the speech by the Governor. I would have framed a reply in another manner....The Governor has been identified and specifically been presented by VPOTUS as being a Sgt. Major. She even got in a ooooaahh description of the Governor as being the HIGHEST enlisted man to serve in Congress. Ok. And? That is not entirely the situation. It is best described as the Governor serving in the slot of an E9 (TO&E stuff), however he retired as a Master Sgt. E8, because he did not finish the Sgt. Major required courses. Why not finish? I don't know, ask him, but at the very least, the Governor should apologize for the Yale quip, because Sen. Vance did finish his schooling and did pass the requirement to graduate from Law School, which of course means he finished his required courses. The Governor, on the other hand....
Seems like he's not all that committed to his commitments . . . much like Kamala and fixing the "refugee" problem.
Seems Walz discusses his rank often, yet he fails to mention his reduced rank for failing to complete his training.
I'm not certain calling 24 years of service "stolen valor" will play well with the average American, but carry on
Not having served and quite frankly having a poor view of military members, your opinion doesn’t represent the majority of Americans. You are free to your opinions, you’re welcome.
To clarify, I have a poor view of the military industrial complex, not it's members at large by any means. Says a lot you go straight to personal attacks though. Disappointing, but unsurprising.
You are incorrect. He left before his term of enlistment was over. He didn't wish to go overseas with his unit. He also lied in an interview with the media about this claiming he carried arms while deployed. Because of what he did his rank was reduced after he left. The person who took his place as the enlisted leader of his unit has been reporting on this situation an the man's lies for years when the man ran for governor yet the fake news has covered this OLD NEWS. CSPAN interview lies are on the record! Just now ABC Fake news is lying about this.
OF COURSE YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND! You and your ilk are very far from what I should consider to be AVERAGE, INFORMED AMERICANS!
Liberals are famous for personal attacks. Just now CNN is saying Vance NEVER SERVED! _______________________________________________________________________ Being ignorant is one thing; purposely lying to America is evil.
Not a personal attack. Just reiterating what you have insinuated previously here. Waltz has inferred that he carried “weapons of war” on the battlefield. He did not. For those that have served in a combat theatre it is highly offensive. It’s also offensive to many voters, Veterans or not, party not withstanding.
