Tim Walz, Who Spent Decades as an Enlisted Soldier, Brings Years of Work on Vets Issues to Dem Ticket
U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael A. Loh, right, director, Air National Guard, walks with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, left, and other senior leaders with the 133rd Airlift Wing and the Minnesota National Guard in St. Paul, Minnesota, July 16, 2021. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Austen R. Adriaens)
Military.com | By
Rebecca Kheel
Published August 06, 2024 at 2:31pm ET
A retired
Army National Guard noncommissioned officer who was once the top Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs Committee could become the next vice president.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris announced Tuesday that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will be her running mate. That puts someone with an enlisted background on both presidential tickets after Republican nominee former President Donald Trump
chose Marine veteran Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate.
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Patrick Murphy, an Army veteran who was Walz' roommate when they were both freshmen in Congress, called Walz a "soldier's soldier."
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"The two largest federal agencies are DoD and the VA, so someone who has intimate knowledge of both is incredibly important," Murphy, who served as Army under secretary during the Obama administration, said in a phone interview with Military.com. "He was a field artilleryman who has tinnitus as diagnosed by the VA, so he understands the plight of our brother and sister veterans."
Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard in Nebraska in 1981 and retired honorably in 2005 as the top enlisted soldier for 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery Regiment, in the Minnesota National Guard, according to a copy of his records provided by the Minnesota Guard. He reached the rank of command sergeant major and served in that role, but he officially retired as a master sergeant for benefits purposes because he didn't finish a required training course, according to the records and a statement from the Minnesota Guard.
His Guard career included responding to natural disasters in the United States, as well as a
deployment to Italy to support U.S. operations in Afghanistan, according to a
2018 article by Minnesota Public Radio. Walz earned several awards, including the Army Commendation Medal and two Army Achievement Medals, according to his military records. Working a civilian job as a high school teacher and football coach, the Nebraska native was also named that state's Citizen Soldier of the Year in 1989, according to official biographies.
During the 2022 Minnesota governor's race, Walz' opponent accused him of leaving the Guard when he did in order to avoid a deployment to Iraq, though Walz maintained he retired in order to focus on running for Congress,
according to the Star Tribune newspaper.
Far-right commentators and media resurfaced those allegations and knocked him for never serving in combat -- something he has never claimed to do -- in contrast with Vance's deployment to Iraq as a combat correspondent.
"Looks like it is time to bring back Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Oof. Walz is a really unforced error. He bailed on the military when they decided to send him to Iraq. JD Vance actually served," conservative talk radio host Erick Erickson posted on social media Tuesday.
EXACTLY AS I THOUGHT, MAGA TRYING THE SWIFT BOAT CRAP AGAIN.
