The head of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s National Guard unit has offered his opinion on Walz’s decision to retire early to avoid deployment to Iraq so he could run for Congress.
The Democratic vice presidential nominee’s military service and comments about it have come under intense scrutiny after he portrayed himself as having served in combat zones on multiple occasions when he did not, and retired as a master sergeant when he officially did.
John Kolb would have been Waltz’s boss if Waltz hadn’t left the military before deploying.
The issue has dogged Walz since the start of his political career.
“I have no regrets about Tim Walz’s early retirement,” Kolb said in a Facebook post, because Walz’s replacement, Thomas Berenz, was an exemplary leader and was exactly what the unit needed during its tough tour of Iraq. Kolb also criticized Walz for lying about being a retired master sergeant for years.
“Thomas Behrens was the right leader at the right time. He made sacrifices to answer the call and entrusted his family, business and farming partners with the training, instruction and care of his Soldiers. He earned the honor of being called Master Sergeant Major. Like any great leader, he ran to the gun, not from the gun,” Kolb wrote.
“it was [Walz’s] “We do not recognize his right to early retirement, nor do we denounce his service as an E7 and E8 in the MNARNG. By all accounts and records, he was an effective fire company leader/gunnery sergeant and first sergeant. The same cannot be said, however, for sitting in the CSM chair and serving in dress uniform,” Kolb continued. “He did not earn the rank as an E9, nor did he successfully complete a mission. His continued clinging to that title is an insult to the NCO corps. I can sit in the cockpit of an airplane, but that does not make me a pilot. Similarly, when the demands of the highest levels of service and leadership became a reality, he chose a different path.”
Kolb is just the latest in a long line of other National Guard soldiers who served in Walz’s unit and deployed to Iraq who have criticized the governor for not leaving his unit to go to Iraq, an issue that has raged since Walz’s political career began. It was earned Waltz has been gaining national attention since Vice President Kamala Harris nominated him as the Democratic nominee.
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