A former National Guard colleague has accused Minnesota Governor Tim Walz of getting ahead of himself to ensure his retirement nearly two decades ago when his troops were about to deploy, perhaps sensing that Walz, then an aspiring politician, would have said, “Hold on, let’s go.”
Doug Julin, who supervised Waltz as a master sergeant with the Minnesota National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery Regiment, recalled the future governor asking him about his career in 2005.
Waltz, now 60, told Julin he was preparing to deploy troops to Iraq but was also interested in running for Congress, Julin told The Washington Post.
“It’s not a big deal,” Jurin said, noting that deputies have been deployed there before.
A few months later, Julin learned from another Guardsman that Waltz had retired after all, a fact he learned through two officers higher up in rank than Julin.
“I would have analysed and challenged him. It would have been a different debate, but he went on to higher ranks. He knew I would tell him: ‘Hold on, let’s go,'” Julin argued.
Other former colleagues have criticized him for leaving the National Guard to serve in Congress, knowing full well that he could have applied for permission to run for public office from the Pentagon while on active duty.
“May 16, 2005, [Walz] “He betrayed his country, left the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion and its Soldiers in limbo, and resigned without a senior NCO leader at a time when the battalion was preparing for war,” veterans Master Sergeant Thomas Behrens and Sergeant Paul Hare wrote in a 2018 letter posted to Facebook.
They further alleged that Waltz avoided the paperwork required to ensure a smooth discharge from military service, “instead … secretly discharging himself,” and that his discharge application stated he was “unable to sign as a soldier.”
Waltz previously defended his retirement, saying, “We’re all doing what we can, and I’m proud of the work I put in over 24 years.” [of service].”
Walz was elected to the House of Representatives in 2006. He was elected governor of Minnesota in 2018 and was named Kamala Harris’ running mate this week.
As a Congressman, Walz served on the House Veterans Affairs Committee and sponsored the Post-September 11 Veterans Benefit Act of 2008, which provided increased educational assistance to veterans.
Another former colleague, Al Bonifield, told The Washington Post that Waltz didn’t make the decision to retire lightly.
“He was trying to decide where he could do more good for our soldiers, our veterans and our country. He had been thinking about it for a long time,” Bonifield recalled.
He argued that Waltz did not seem concerned about the potential dangers of a war zone.
“He wasn’t that kind of guy. Absolutely not,” Bonifield said.
Walz’s criticism of military service has also featured on his 2024 campaign trail.
Trump’s running mate, Marine veteran J.D. Vance, accused Waltz of “defamation” by making statements that falsely suggested he had firsthand combat experience.
“What bothers me about Tim Walz is this stolen valor bullshit. Stop pretending to be something you’re not,” Vance said Wednesday while campaigning in Michigan.
