With Minnesota Governor Tim Walz being announced as Kamala Harris’ running mate for this upcoming November election, Republicans have scrambled to find any trace of a blemish on his professional record they can use to discredit him in the eyes of the American public.
While there have been some policy-centered criticisms from the Right, such as condemning Walz for requiring tampons to be placed in boys’ bathrooms – his initiative was to stock all bathrooms with tampons – there also has been, unsurprisingly, a barrage of ad hominem attacks. One such attack came from Donald Trump’s VP pick Sen. JD Vance, who said, while speaking in Michigan:
“He has not spent a day in a combat zone. What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage. Do not pretend to be something that you’re not…I’d be ashamed if I was him and I lied about my military service like he did.”
This low jab stems from the fact that Walz retired from the military to campaign for Congress in 2005, not long before his unit was deployed to Iraq, where Vance served that same year. However, as POLITICO noted in an article addressing Vance’s verbal incursion on his fellow veteran, Walz filed his paperwork to run for Congress a month prior to it being known that the Minnesota National Guard was to be sent to Iraq. This article’s author also points out that, despite having been to Iraq, Vance does not have any more combat experience than Walz, as he was deployed as a military journalist.
Walz was part of the US military for nearly a quarter of a century and has candidly acknowledged in the past that during those years he did not get deployed to a combat zone. Here’s what we know about Walz’s over two decades of service.
Serving his country since the age of 17
A native Nebraskan, Tim Walz joined the military in 1981, mere days after his 17th birthday, and began his basic training in Georgia. During his time as a soldier, he was stationed in Arkansas, Texas, Italy, and the Arctic Circle, among other locations. While in Italy, where he spent nearly a year between 2003 and 2004, Walz was part of Operation Enduring Freedom, which offered support to the US war efforts in Afghanistan.
As part of the military, Walz responded to natural disasters such as floods and tornados. His specialty was heavy artillery, being part of Minnesota Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery by the time he stepped away to kickstart his political career. Due to his dealing with howitzer cannons, his hearing became compromised, having to undergo stapedectomy surgery in 2005 to help fix the damage.
Owing to his performance over his 24 years of service, Walz climbed to the rank of Command Sargeant Major. For benefit purposes, and because he did not finish a required training course, he was reduced in rank shortly after retiring. When he was elected to the House of Representatives in 2006, Walz earned the informal honor of becoming the highest-elected former enlisted soldier to attain a seat in Congress.
During his military career, Walz was awarded the Army Commendation Medal and two Army Achievement Medals. As a politician and retired soldier, Walz became an outspoken voice on the political injustices of war and made it his mission to help Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans get the benefits they deserve.
Adequately responding to JD Vance’s ungraceful accusations, the Harris-Walz campaign said in a statement:
“In his 24 years of service, the Governor carried, fired, and trained others to use weapons of war innumerable times. Governor Walz would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country – in fact, he thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country. It’s the American way.”
As it frequently happens, some insults and gibes are more revealing of the person uttering them than the individual who’s on the receiving end.