The Minnesota National Guard revealed earlier this week that Governor Tim Walz, a 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate, was demoted to the rank of sergeant major the day before he retired, meaning he never retired as a master sergeant, as he has repeatedly claimed in political ads and on the political stage. In a statement sent to journalists on August 13, 2024 (emphasis added), Army Col. Ryan Cochran, director of personnel for the Minnesota National Guard, said:
Governor Tim Walz received his notice of retirement eligibility on August 3, 2002. He was promoted to Master Sergeant (E-9) on September 17, 2004 and immediately served as Master Sergeant with 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery while paperwork was submitted to the National Guard Bureau for appointment to Master Sergeant (E-9). With approval from the National Guard Bureau, he was laterally commissioned to Master Sergeant (E-9) on April 1, 2005. He retired from the Minnesota National Guard on May 16, 2005. Our records do not indicate when he requested retirement. All retirement requests are reviewed and approved by management. He was demoted to administrative sergeant major (E-8) on May 15, 2005, for failing to complete all required courses at the U.S. Army Sergeant Major Academy.
According to the statement, Waltz’s rank was demoted to sergeant (E-8) on May 15, 2005, and he was discharged on May 16, 2005. Publicly available Army National Guard documents show Waltz’s military record was corrected on Sept. 10, 2005.
Waltz maintained throughout his entire career that he was a retired Master Sergeant, despite having retired as a Master Sergeant on May 15, 2005. He was not, however, a retired Master Sergeant, and even though he served as a Master Sergeant on an interim basis and was stripped of his rank, he still listed that rank on coins he distributed as a Congressman and on his Twitter profile at the time. However, Waltz claimed to be a retired Master Sergeant (E-9) in his first political ad in Congress in 2006, and continued to claim that throughout his term as a Congressman.
Tim Waltz was guilty of honor theft
From Walz’s first congressional campaign in 2006 to his current position as Minnesota’s governor…
🚨Update: View Tim Waltz He falsely claimed the rank of retired Master Sergeant… 20 times! pic.twitter.com/5L1l3n0Zgf
— NOVA Campaign (@NoVA_Campaigns) August 15, 2024
He also printed his illegitimately obtained rank of master sergeant on challenge coins that he gave out to people and included in his Twitter profile at the time. The Harris-Waltz campaign has never said why Waltz lied about being a retired master sergeant, but Politico reports that the campaign quietly updated his campaign biography to say that he was not a retired master sergeant, but simply served as a master sergeant.
Nor did he address allegations from several people who served with him, including his superior at the time, retired Army Command Sergeant Major Doug Julin, that Waltz retired to avoid deploying to Iraq. Julin said in an interview with CNN that Waltz had committed to leading a battalion into the Iraq war but then went around him to get approval for an early retirement.
The campaign said only that Walz “made a gaffe” over a video he circulated in 2018 in which he said he had carried a weapon “in war” despite never having seen combat or been deployed to a battlefield during his 24-year career as a reservist.
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