Veteran Exposes Embellishments in Gov. Tim Walz's Military Record

A veteran who served alongside Gov. Tim Walz, Kamala Harris's vice presidential candidate, has come forward with allegations that Walz embellished his military service and abandoned his unit before deployment to Iraq.

Ret. Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Behrends, who claims to have served in Gov. Tim Walz's battalion, has made accusations that the Minnesota governor has misleadingly portrayed his military career. In an interview on "The Ingraham Angle," Behrends stated, "He's used the rank that he never achieved in order to advance his political career."

Behrends alleges that Walz's service concluded when he retired from his unit in the Minnesota National Guard just before their deployment to Iraq in 2005. However, the Minnesota National Guard has clarified that Walz's unit did not receive deployment orders to Iraq until July, while he had submitted his retirement papers five to seven months prior in May 2005.

Veteran Exposes Embellishments in Gov. Tim Walz's Military Record

Behrends further asserts that Walz had been promoted to command sergeant major in 2004 but was required to serve two additional years to maintain the promotion. Behrends claims that Walz's early retirement terminated the promotion, reducing his rank to master sergeant.

"What he did, basically, was he quit," Behrends stated. "He didn't complete that condition of doing two years after graduation, so he gets reduced to a master sergeant, and that's what he is right now, is a retired master sergeant."

Veteran Exposes Embellishments in Gov. Tim Walz's Military Record

Questions about Walz's military rhetoric arose after Vice President Kamala Harris announced him as her running mate on the 2024 Democratic ticket. Walz's governor's website biography describes him as a retired "command sergeant major," and he has also claimed to have carried a gun "in war," despite having never experienced active combat.

Army Lt. Col. Ryan Rossman, Minnesota National Guard's director of Operations, clarified Walz's rank at the time of his retirement: "He was technically a Command Sgt Major when he deployed to Europe with his battalion but to RETIRE as a CSM you have to go through a final course which he had not completed so from a benefits perspective the Army retired him as a Master Sgt (lower enlisted rank.) But according to National Guard records he was a Command Sgt Major technically when deployed. The lower rank was as a result of benefit requirements and a technicality."

Veteran Exposes Embellishments in Gov. Tim Walz's Military Record

In response, the campaign issued a statement: "After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he chaired Veterans Affairs and was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform — and as our Vice President of the United States, he will continue to be a relentless champion for our veterans and military families."

However, Behrends claims that the majority of soldiers he served with in Iraq are strongly opposed to Walz's embellishments. "Don't try to make it look like you were a command sergeant major," Behrends urged. "Don't try to make it look like you were going to some place that was in support of Operation Enduring Freedom… that's just all embellishment and lies to try to make things look better."

Veteran Exposes Embellishments in Gov. Tim Walz's Military Record

Tom Schilling, another veteran who claims to have served in Walz's battalion, echoed Behrends' sentiments, describing Walz's actions as "dishonorable." Schilling expressed disbelief when he heard Harris had chosen Walz as her running mate: "We all did what we were supposed to do, we did the right thing, and it's dishonorable what he did."

Walz's team has not yet responded to these allegations.