Vance reopens line of attack into Walz’s military record as two veterans now vie to be vice president
Vance also accused Walz of falsely claiming he had served in a combat zone while the Democratic vice presidential nominee was in the Army National Guard.
While Walz retired two months before his unit received alert orders to deploy to Iraq, the attacks on Walz’s military record are part of the race from both parties to define the relatively unknown governor after he was tapped Tuesday as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. Walz’s 24-year military service is one of several facets of his background that appeal to voters that the Harris campaign is trying to reach with his selection – and that Republicans are trying to blunt by painting him as an out-of-touch liberal.
Walz and Vance, the two VP candidates, are both military veterans, unlike their running mates.
Walz served in the Army National Guard for 24 years before retiring in 2005. He launched a campaign for Congress in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District that year and was elected in November 2006.
At a campaign stop in Michigan on Wednesday, Vance accused Walz of abandoning his unit before it deployed to Iraq in 2006.
“When the United State Marine Corps, when the United States of America asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it. I did what they asked me to do, and I did it honorably and I’m very proud of that service. When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him,” Vance said.
Walz retired from the Army National Guard in May 2005, according to the Minnesota National Guard. Typically, service members need to submit papers several months before they can retire.
A National Guard article on his unit’s deployment states that it received alert orders to deploy to Iraq in July 2005, two months after Walz retired. The unit first mobilized in the fall of 2005 to Camp Shelby Mississippi to prepare for deployment, according to the unit’s history, and then deployed in March 2006 for 22 months, which the Guard said was the longest continuous deployment of any military unit during US operations in Iraq.
Walz filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission as a candidate for Congress on February 10, 2005.
In his comments Wednesday, Vance also went after Walz for claiming he had served in combat, accusing the governor of being “dishonest” with his claims about his service.
“He said that we – and he was making a point about gun control – ‘shouldn’t allow weapons that I used in war to be on America’s streets,’” Vance said of Walz.
Vance pointed to a video promoted by the Harris campaign on social media Tuesday, in which Walz is speaking about his decision to change his position and support an assault weapons ban after the Parkland shooting in 2018.
“We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at,” Walz said in the video.
Walz deployed with the Minnesota National Guard in August 2003 to Vicenza, Italy, as part of support for the US war in Afghanistan, according to a Minnesota Guard spokesperson. He did not deploy to Afghanistan or Iraq or a combat zone as part of his service.
In a statement, a Harris campaign spokesperson said: “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.”
Vance served four years in the Marine Corps as an enlisted combat correspondent, in public affairs, and deployed once to Iraq for roughly six months, according to his military record. He left service in September 2007 as a corporal.
This is not the first time there have been criticisms of Walz’s military record. The Minnesota governor was criticized for his exit from the National Guard in 2022 by his Republican opponent, who held a press conference with veterans in the final stretch of the campaign, according to the Star Tribune.
At the time, Walz defended his service.
“We all do what we can. I’m proud I did 24 years,” Walz told the Minnesota paper. “I have an honorable record.”
The criticisms of his military record from within the state during his gubernatorial campaigns also focused on his rank when he retired.
Walz reached the rank of command master sergeant, but he officially retired as a master sergeant— one rank below command sergeant major — because “he did not complete additional coursework at the US Army Sergeants Major Academy,” according to the Guard.
Joseph Eustice, a 32-year veteran who led the same battalion as Walz, told the Star Tribune in 2022 that Walz did nothing wrong when he left the Guard.
”He was a great soldier,” Eustice said. “When he chose to leave, he had every right to leave.”
CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere and Natasha Bertrand contributed to this report.
The ongoing political race for defined perspectives on Governor Walz, after being chosen as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, includes accusations from opponent Vance about Walz's military service. Despite retiring before his unit received deployment orders to Iraq in 2005, politicians are using Walz's military background as a key issue in their respective campaigns.
Political debates surrounding Walz's military service have occurred in the past, including during his gubernatorial campaigns when critics questioned his rank upon retirement. Despite these criticisms, former commanding officer Joseph Eustice defended Walz, stating he was a great soldier and had every right to leave the National Guard.
