Fact check: Walz retired from Army National Guard after 24 years to run for Congress

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance has renewed an attack on Gov. Tim Walz's military record that his GOP opponent wielded against him during the 2022 gubernatorial campaign, accusing Walz of "stolen valor" for retiring from the military before his regiment deployed to Iraq.

The Ohio senator pitted his service against the governor's on Wednesday in Michigan, saying that he had served honorably in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Corps. Vance, former President Donald Trump's running mate, was deployed in public affairs as a correspondent. Neither Vance nor Walz saw combat.

"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 he served. I think it's shameful," said Vance, who was on active duty from 2003 to 2007, including deployment to Iraq in 2005 and 2006.

The second-term Minnesota governor and running mate to Vice President Kamala Harris retired from the Army National Guard as a command sergeant major in May 2005 to run for Congress in the First District in southeastern Minnesotan. Walz defeated GOP incumbent Rep. Gil Gutknecht in November 2006.

When Walz retired

Here's the timeline: Walz's congressional campaign issued a statement in March 2005 saying he still planned to run despite a possible mobilization of Minnesota National Guard soldiers to Iraq. Walz submitted his Guard retirement papers in May 2005. The unit's first call-up notice came in July 2005, and the regiment deployed in March 2006.

Walz's Guard service began when he enlisted in 1981, the day after he turned 17, military records show. The governor recently retold the story of driving with his dad, a Korean War-era veteran, to sign up in his native Nebraska. Like his father, Walz said he expected to go to college on the G.I. Bill and that's what he eventually did.

Walz re-upped in the Guard multiple times, including signing on for another six-year stint in 2001.

In the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack, Walz was a senior enlisted member and a master sergeant, according to military records. He lived in Mankato and served with the southern Minnesota-based First Battalion, 125th Field Artillery. The battalion was deployed to Italy in 2003 to protect against potential threats in Europe while active military forces were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Walz.

After the units returned to Minnesota in early 2004, Walz was promoted to command sergeant major.

Walz's critics say the governor inflated his credentials because he retired as a master sergeant, not at the higher rank of command sergeant major. Walz served at the higher rank but left before completing all the extra training necessary for the rank.

Military records

In response to a Star Tribune request, Walz's 2022 campaign provided a two-page military record confirming the dates and his ranks. The Minnesota National Guard also confirmed the outlines of his tenure, saying that Walz served from April 8, 1981, until May 16, 2005.

"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," according to the statement from Army public affairs officer Lt. Col. Kristen Augé.

Walz critics

In the 2022 gubernatorial race, Walz's Republican opponent, former state Sen. Scott Jensen, stood with a few veterans to accuse Walz of leaving the National Guard shortly before the battalion he led was deployed to Iraq.

Jensen, a physician who narrowly avoided the Vietnam-era draft, said in 2022 that Walz's departure from the Guard fits a pattern and "is just one of a long line of instances … where Tim Walz failed to lead and ran from his duty."

During the gubernatorial campaign, Walz made no apologies for the timing of his departure, saying his life has been about public service, including his time in the military.

"We all do what we can. I'm proud I did 24 years," Walz said. "I have an honorable record."

In his Minnesota campaigns and during his tenure as governor, Walz hasn't spent much time talking about his time in the National Guard, more often touting his background as a high school teacher and football coach.

Joseph Eustice, a 32-year veteran of the Guard who led the same battalion as Walz, said the governor fulfilled his duty.

"He was a great soldier," Eustice said. "When he chose to leave, he had every right to leave."

Eustice said claims to the contrary are ill-informed and possibly sour grapes by a soldier who was passed over for the promotion to command sergeant major that went to Walz.

That man, Thomas Behrends, was among those standing with Jensen to criticize the governor. Jensen and Behrends, a longtime critic of the governor, argue that Walz bailed on his troops when the going was about to get tough.

Walz defenders

Eustice, an Ortonville, Minn., teacher who describes himself as nonpartisan, said he unequivocally supports the governor's version of events.

Eustice said he recalled talking to Walz in 2005 when they were at Camp Ripley. He said Walz told him he was thinking about resigning from the Guard and running for Congress.

"The man did nothing wrong with when he chose to leave the service; he didn't break any rules," he said.

Like Walz, Eustice said that he also left in the middle of a six-year re-enrollment because members are free to leave at any time after their initial six-year stint.

"If you choose to re-up, you can walk in any day and be done," Eustice said.

Jumping to Walz's defense in light of the Vance criticism was U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, a Navy combat veteran. He asked Vance if he'd forgotten what the Marines taught about respect.

"Tim Walz spent DECADES in uniform. You both deserve to be thanked for your service. Don't become Donald Trump. He calls veterans suckers and losers and that is beneath those of us who have actually served," Kelly wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.

Former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill. and an Air National Guard pilot, also defended Walz, saying the GOP is trying to "swiftboat" Walz. Swiftboat is a reference to the attacks questioning the Vietnam combat service of U.S. Sen. John Kerry when he was the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004.

"Tim Walz joined the Army Guard and served honorably for 24 years, achieving the highest enlisted rank offered. That is quite an accomplishment. The nation should be proud, and JD Vance should be respectful of his fellow warrior," Kinzinger wrote on his Substack.

In 2022, Walz responded to the criticism from Jensen and Behrends at a Medal of Honor Memorial dedication on the State Capitol grounds, saying he was proud of his tenure in the Guard.

"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, and there's many people in this crowd, too, that I served with," Walz said. "It's just unfortunate."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.