Bethany Blankley (The Center Square)
Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives and veterans are calling for an explanation from the Pentagon and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who has been selected as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, about his military record after several allegations resurfaced, and the two are considered potential Democratic presidential and vice presidential candidates.
Criticism of Walz’s military record has been ongoing since he first ran for Congress in 2006. Republican lawmakers and veterans have again raised concerns, including vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), a Marine veteran who served in Iraq, and Reps. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Corey Mills (R-Fla.), Navy and Army veterans who served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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Waltz served in the Army National Guard for 24 years. Claimed In 2018, he said his goal was to ban Americans from purchasing “the weapons I carried in war,” claiming he served in combat, and that he left the National Guard with the rank of master sergeant before his unit deployed to Iraq in 2005 to run for Congress.
Questions have been raised about his deployment for years. Waltz, a soldier with 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery, deployed to Vicenza, Italy, in 2003 to support Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, but did not see combat in Afghanistan.
Vance has taken issue with Walz’s portrayal of his military service, saying at a recent campaign event in Michigan, “Tim Walz, when were you in a war? What weapons did you take to that war? What gets me sick about Tim Walz is this bullshit piece of stolen heroism. Stop pretending to be something you’re not. If I were him and I lied about my military service like he did, I’d be embarrassed.”
Similar claims have been made before. When Walz ran for governor in 2018, retired National Guard leaders Open Letter “He exaggerated and selectively omitted facts about his long military career,” he said in a Facebook post.
According to a video released by the Calvin Coolidge Project, in 2009, veterans reportedly complained to former Congressman Waltz’s staff that Waltz violated a 2006 defamation law by making claims about Afghanistan even though he never served there.
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In July 2006, veterans sent a letter to a local news outlet, the Mankato Free Press. Archived Bluestem Prairie News, and Winona Daily NewsThey argued that Walz was misleading voters about his military service in Afghanistan. The answer was published He told the Winona Daily News he never misled anyone and was proud of his military service.
Others, CSPAN Interview Then-US Representative Walz made no secret that he had never actually fought in Afghanistan.
Banks on Thursday after similar concerns resurfaced. I sent a letter They have requested official information about Waltz’s military history from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
“The American people have a right to transparency about the military records of service members who hold public office, especially those who claim that military record as a qualification for their office,” he wrote. “False statements and deception intended to mislead the public about their military history undermine the integrity of our military and impact all Americans who choose to serve.”
Banks, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee’s Military Personnel Subcommittee, requested Waltz’s service dates, including the date he applied for retirement, as well as documentation to support his claims that he “deployed overseas to Iraq or Afghanistan for combat service” or received military security clearance.
He also asked for clarification on whether Walz “is defamatory for falsely claiming to have carried a combat weapon in a war.” Under the law, enacted in 2006 and amended in 2013, it is a federal crime for an individual to make false claims about their military service.
Mills maintains that Waltz can provide further explanation about his background.
“Waltz should have at least come back and said, ‘I was promoted to sergeant. I didn’t go to military academy and I was actually demoted to sergeant major,'” Mills said. statement On social media: “But he’s not doing that. This guy continues to lie to get military support from veterans, but the real combat veteran and future VP is JD Vance.”
Harris’ campaign addressed some of the criticism on Friday: “Governor Walz would never disparage or undermine Americans’ service to this country. In fact, he thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country. That’s the American way,” a Harris campaign spokesman said. said NBC News: “The Governor misled us when he made the case for why weapons of war should not be on our streets or in our classrooms. He has handled weapons of war and firmly believes they should only be handled by military personnel trained to carry them.”
“In our world, when Warnold completes his service and retires, [warning order] “This order is cowardly, especially coming from a senior NCO,” said Corey Bjergnes, a retired U.S. captain who is now a chaplain in North Dakota. said The New York Post. “Running for Congress is no excuse. I stopped everything to go to war. I left my wife, three teenagers and a 6-year-old behind and was away from home for 19 months.”
Distributed with permission From Centre Square.
