By Bethany Blankley (The Center Square)
U.S. House Republicans and veterans are demanding answers from the Pentagon and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz about their military records after multiple allegations resurfaced. Walz has been selected as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate; the two are the presumptive Democratic nominees for president and vice president.
Criticism of Walz’s military record has persisted since he first ran for Congress in 2006. Republican members of Congress and veterans have again raised concerns, including J.D. Vance, a Marine veteran who served in Iraq and Republican vice presidential candidate from Ohio; U.S. Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) ) and Corey Mills (R-Fla.) are Navy and Army veterans, respectively, whose deployments include Afghanistan and Iraq.
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Walz served in the Army National Guard for 24 years. claim In 2018, he aimed to ban Americans from purchasing “weapons of war that I carried in war,” claiming he had fought in combat. He also claimed that in 2005, before his unit deployed to Iraq, he retired from the Guard and ran for Congress with the rank of sergeant major.
Questions about his deployment have been raised for years. Walz served in the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery, and deployed to Vicenza, Italy in 2003 to support Operation Enduring Freedom in the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. He did not witness the fighting in Afghanistan.
Vance has questioned Walz’s description of his military service, saying at a recent campaign stop in Michigan, “I want to know, Tim Walz, when did you go to war? What weapons did you bring to war? ? What bothers me about Tim Waltz is this stolen courage crap. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. If I were him, I’d be ashamed of myself about my military service.
Similar claims have been made before. In 2018, when Walz was running for governor, the retired National Guard leader posted a open letter On Facebook, he said he “embellished and selectively ignored the facts of his military career for many years.”
In 2009, a veteran allegedly confronted Walz’s former congressional staffer, claiming he violated the Stolen Valor Act of 2006 because he had never been arrested, according to a video released by the Calvin Coolidge Project. Made remarks about Afghanistan while deployed to Afghanistan.
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In July 2006, veterans wrote to the local news outlet, the Mankato Free Press, Archived By Bluestem Prairie News and winona daily newsclaiming Walz misled voters while serving in Afghanistan. waltz Posted a response Speaking to the Winona Daily News, he said he never misled anyone and that he was proud of his military service.
Others pointed out a CSPAN interview Speaking to then-U.S. Rep. Walz, Walz did not appear to clarify that he had never actually served in combat in Afghanistan.
Banks on Thursday sent a letter Request official information about Walz’s service record from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“The American people deserve transparency about the military records of servicemembers who hold public office, especially when they certify such service as official service,” he wrote. “Misrepresentations and deceptions designed to mislead the public about their service undermine It affects the integrity of our military and affects all Americans who choose to serve.”
Banks, chairman of the House Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee, asked for the dates of Walz’s service, including when Walz retired, as well as documents supporting any assertion that he was “deployed overseas to combat in Iraq or Afghanistan” or had military security. Clear.
He also asked for clarification on whether Walz’s “lying about carrying combat weapons in war constituted theft of courage.” The 2006 law was amended in 2013 to make it a federal crime for individuals to fraudulently claim military service.
Mills believes Walz can further clarify his record.
“Walz should at least come back and say, ‘I was promoted to sergeant. I never went into the academy and was actually demoted back to sergeant major,” Mills said in a statement. statement on social media. “But he didn’t do that. This guy was trying to continue lying, trying to gain military favor with veterans, when the real veteran and future vice president was J.D. Vance.
The Harris campaign responded in part to those criticisms on Friday. “Governor Walz would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country – in fact, he thanked Senator Vance for risking his life for our country. That’s the American way,” Harris campaign spokesperson Tell NBC News. “The governor got it wrong when he explained why weapons of war should never be on our streets or in our classrooms. He did handle weapons of war and firmly believed that only military personnel trained to carry these deadly weapons should use them.
The former chaplain of the Volz Field Artillery Regiment also expressed his opinion, saying: “In our world, after the war the Nords withdrew [warning order] Corey Bjertness, a retired captain and now a pastor in North Dakota, Tell New York Post. “Running for Congress was no excuse. I stopped everything and went to war. I left my wife with three teenage kids and a 6-year-old, and I was gone for 19 months.
Co-organized with permission of Center Square.
