Tim Walz and his Military Record: Swift Boat II?

Echoes of 2004

There is one moment I remember more than any other from the 2004 Presidential Campaign.  Throughout the Democrat National Convention that year, the veteran status of nominee John Kerry was touted again and again.  Then at the climatic moment as he began his acceptance speech, he saluted the convention and announced, “I’m John Kerry, and I’m reporting for duty.”

I instantly knew he was asking for trouble.  I knew right then that could backfire on him, and it did.  And I knew he was asking for it.

I knew that because I was aware of his controversial activities in Vietnam Veterans Against the War during the last years of the Vietnam War.  What I did not know is that there were veterans who did not appreciate his conduct while serving in Vietnam either.  Swift Boat Veterans for Truth played a major role in discrediting him during the rest of the campaign.

Yes, I know SBVT remains controversial.  That is beyond the scope of this post.  But if a candidate touts his military record as part of his campaign, he has made that record an issue, especially if that record is questionable.  Kerry did just that.  So there should be no whining that he paid a political price.

I bring up this bit of history because we may be experiencing a similar episode now.  The Harris-Walz campaign is touting the military experience of her new running mate Gov. Tim Walz.  Well, there are at least two big alleged problems with his military record.

First, when the battalion Walz led was deployed to Iraq, he chose that moment to retire instead of going with his battalion.  Worse, he had promised those he led that he would stick with them.  I’ll let “Cynical Publius” state how dishonorable that is:

One of the things that the Army makes a battalion do when it deploys to war is to leave back in the USA a "Rear Detachment."  It's a very small group of soldiers who cover important administrative and logistical matters back home.  The Rear Detachment is also the hub of the civilian spouse-led "Family Readiness Group," keeping spouses and kids informed and--Heaven forbid--helping families if one of your soldiers is killed or wounded.

There are different schools of thought as to who you should leave in charge of that Rear Detachment.  Some battalion commanders leave their worst Lieutenant or Captain behind.  When my battalion went to Afghanistan, I chose to leave my very best First Lieutenant behind.  The job is just that important.  When I told him he was being left behind to command the Rear Detachment, this stoic, hard-core, stud, Jumpmaster, Ranger-qualified, 300+ PT test combat medic Lieutenant broke down and boo-hoo cried.  He begged me not to leave him behind.   Being left behind while the rest of the battalion and his company deployed was sheer heartbreak to him.  He did the Rear Detachment Commander job extremely well, but I'm not sure he ever forgave me.

Most military leaders are like that.  They will extend retirement dates.  They will lie about injuries.  They will cancel a PCS move or a military school.  Hell, many will even get divorced.  They will do any and all of those things to avoid not deploying with their unit.  True military leaders are like that: the most dishonorable thing imaginable is to not go to war with your comrades.

But not Tim Walz.  He was a battalion Command Sergeant Major--the most senior and important NCO in a battalion--and he bailed, ran and hid rather than deploy with his unit to Iraq.

Tim Walz is not qualified to be a municipal dogcatcher, let alone Vice President of the United States of America.

And this story is gaining traction, including at the N. Y. Post.

But it gets worse.  There are allegations of stolen valor as well, that Walz has misrepresented his military service and status.  This is just beginning to get out there although J. D. Vance mentioned it yesterday and Mark Levin focused on it during his radio show overnight.

Strangely, one has to do some digging to find out much.  (Is this being memory-holed?)  “Disinformation Expert Ace” has the most complete summary I’ve seen so far, which begins:

This is no small point, because Walz has repeatedly run on his claim that he was the "highest ranking service member" in Congress, pointing out his temporary, provisional promotion to Command Master Sergeant.

After he deserted his unit, he was demoted to Master Sergeant -- a much more common rank.

No one is reporting this yet, but I think it's a fair speculation that he was only given the promotion to Command Master Soldier was in anticipation of leading his unit in the Iraq War. As he bugged out as soon as he was informed his unit was going to Iraq, he obviously did not earn this rank.

Just the News has more:

The Minnesota National Guard confirmed Wednesday that Gov. Tim Walz, Kamala Harris' vice presidential running mate, was demoted and did not retire as a command sergeant major like he has claimed for years, including on his official gubernatorial biography.

Tim Walz’s nutty, extreme record is disqualifying enough, as is that of Kamala Harris.  I pointed out only part of that awful record yesterday.

But the controversy over Walz’s military record is worth watching as well.  I doubt it becomes as significant a factor as “swiftboating” did in 2004.  But if it does, Walz and the Harris-Walz campaign asked for it by touting Walz’s military record when it is so questionable — just as John Kerry asked for it at that 2004 Democrat National Convention.