Tim Walz called out for routinely making false claims about his military rank

Gov. Tim Walz, who has been accused of “stolen valor” for implying he is a combat veteran, is also under scrutiny for inflating his military rank after he retired from the Minnesota Army National Guard.

Mr. Walz, who is Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, routinely referred to himself or allowed others, without correcting them, to refer to him as a retired command sergeant major.

Mr. Walz briefly served as a command sergeant major (E-9), though he never fully attained the rank, and retired at the lower rank of master sergeant (E-8).

On Feb. 12, 2006, surrounded by other Democratic candidates and congressional leaders on Capitol Hill, he introduced himself this way:

“I am a retired command sergeant major. I spent 24 years in the Army National Guard. I spent the better part of two decades as a public schoolteacher. I’m a small business owner. I’m a father and I’m a husband. I intend to come here to Washington to provide authentic leadership.”

During that election cycle he ran a radio campaign ad where he said, “I am a retired command sergeant major in the Minnesota National Guard and after years of firing artillery, I sustained years of inner ear damage.”

In September 2007, after he won a House seat, he again referred to himself as a retired command sergeant major. Fellow Democrats called him by that rank or used the superlative of “highest enlisted” man ever elected to Congress.

The former commander of Mr. Walz’s Guard unit challenged Mr. Walz’s final military rank claims.

John Kolb, who formerly served as the commander of the 125th Field Artillery unit that Mr. Walz once led, wrote on his Facebook page that the Minnesota governor obscured the truth about his promotion to command sergeant major.

Mr. Kolb said that Mr. Walz was “frocked,” a military term that refers to a person who is chosen for a promotion but the rank is not yet issued.

A frocked soldier can be given a uniform and the responsibilities of their promoted rank, regardless of not having any further privileges or increase in pay, a 2022 Department of Defense memo said.

Mr. Kolb said that Mr. Walz’s frocked status voids his claim to command sergeant major.

“He did not earn the rank sitting, frocked, in the CSM chair,” Mr. Kolb wrote. “It is an affront to the Noncommissioned Officer Corps that he continues to glom onto the title. I can sit in the cockpit of an airplane, it does not make me a pilot.”

“Similarly, when the demands of service and leadership at the highest level got real, he chose another path,” he said.

Amid the criticism, the Harris campaign last week tweaked Mr. Walz’s biography on its website, changing the reference to him as a “retired command sergeant major” to say he once served at that rank.

Mr. Walz on Tuesday pushed back against the “stolen valor” accusations which have included his retirement from the National Guard in 2005 as his unit prepared to deploy to the Iraq War and later suggesting he served in combat.

Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, the GOP vice presidential nominee, said Mr. Walz lied about his service and his selection for the Democratic ticket calls into question Ms. Harris’ judgment.

“I am damn proud of my service to this country and I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s service record,” Mr. Walz said at a campaign event Wednesday in Los Angeles. “Anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I have a few simple words, ’Thank you for your service.’”

He did not address the claims about his military rank.

The Minnesota National Guard confirmed that Mr. Walz received his notification of eligibility for retirement on Aug. 3, 2002.

He received his promotion to command sergeant major (E-9) on Sept. 17, 2004, and immediately began serving as the command sergeant major for the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery while his packet was submitted to the National Guard Bureau to appoint him to command sergeant major (E-9).

After his promotion was approved by the NGB, he was laterally appointed to command sergeant major (E-9) on April 1, 2005, and retired from the Minnesota National Guard on May 16, 2005.

However, the National Guard said their records do not indicate when he made his request to retire and that leadership reviews and approves all requests to retire.

“He was administratively reduced to master sergeant (E-8) on May 15, 2005, because he did not complete all required U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy coursework,” said Army Col. Ryan Cochran, Minnesota National Guard’s Director of Manpower & Personnel.