The U.S. Democratic Party had barely announced the name of Kamala Harris’ running mate when serious questions about his credentials surfaced. Tim Walz, presented on the campaign website as “the son of an Army veteran and a retired Command Sergeant Major in the Army National Guard himself,” came under fire when it came to light that he did not, in reality, ever hold that rank. The campaign has since rephrased that section of the VP candidate’s bio on its website, saying he “served at the command sergeant major rank.”
In interviews, Walz has described himself as a “retired sergeant major.”
What’s in a title? Well, quite a bit.
Misrepresenting military credentials is—in addition to potentially violating federal law—one of the most politically damaging things a candidate for office can do in the United States. For a candidate touted as representing lower and middle class ‘flyover country’—the demographic traditionally providing most of the servicemen for the armed forces—doubly so. And it’s not the first time Walz has been challenged on this point. Already in 2009, when Walz was a U.S. congressman, a vet confronted his staff with the accusation of “stolen valor.”
When Walz ran for Minnesota governor in 2018, two retired guardsmen wrote in a letter published in the West Central Tribune:
Tim Walz has embellished and selectively omitted facts and circumstances of his military career for years.
In his 2018 campaign, Walz presented himself as “Command Sergeant Major Walz”—a title still visible on his gubernatorial website at the time of writing.
The retired guardsmen’s letter states Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard in 2001 for—he says four, the letter says six—years. In September 2004, he was conditionally promoted to Command Sergeant Major.
“If the conditions are not met,” the letter explains, “the promotion is null and void, like it never happened.” Walz resigned from the Guard in May 2005, shortly after his battalion received word they would deploy to Iraq. Having failed to fulfill the conditions for the promotion in rank, he never held the title, although he for a time served in that capacity.
The question came up again in 2022 when Walz ran for a second term as Governor of Minnesota when his credentials were challenged by his conservative Republican opponent, former state Sen. Scott Jensen.
Army public affairs officer Lt. Col. Kristen Augé at that time told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that 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,”
Another of Walz’s claims has also made waves on social media: That he has served in war. The retired Guardsmen’s letter outlined his war experiences, which appear limited to—Italy:
In late summer of 2003, First Sergeant Walz deployed with the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion in support of Operation Enduring Freedom to Italy. The mission was to augment United States Air Force Europe Security Forces doing base security for six months. In no way were the units or Soldiers of the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion replacing any units or military forces so they could deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Retired Command Sergeant Major Tom Behrends, one of the signatories of the letter—who took Walz’s place when the battalion deployed to Iraq—said in a recent interview, “As soon as the shots were fired in Iraq, he turned and ran the other way and hung his hat up and quit.”
Back in 2022, Walz responded to similar criticism from Behrends by saying:
I don’t know if Tom just disagrees with my politics or whatever, but my record speaks for itself and my accomplishments in uniform speak for itself.
With persistent questions regarding his military service nipping at Walz’s heels throughout his political career, it is difficult to understand why the Democratic Party chose to not get out in front of what’s now become a major headache for them. It’s an issue that won’t die down in a hurry. Military veterans have come out in force on social media denouncing Walz and posting photos of themselves in the war where Walz avoided serving by resigning.
Presidential candidate Harris, when asked by Fox News to address the subject on Thursday, gave a non-answer by responding, “’Listen, I praise anyone who has presented themselves to serve our country. And I think that we all should.”
As for Walz’s Republican counterpart, J.D. Vance, he did not mince words:
When the US Marine Corps asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it.
When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, he dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him. I think that’s shameful.
