{"id":2321683,"date":"2024-08-09T05:01:01","date_gmt":"2024-08-09T09:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tim-walz-misrepresented-his-military-service\/"},"modified":"2024-08-09T05:07:39","modified_gmt":"2024-08-09T09:07:39","slug":"tim-walz-misrepresented-his-military-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tim-walz-misrepresented-his-military-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Tim Walz Misrepresented His Military Service"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftim-walz-misrepresented-his-military-service%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2321683&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Minnesota\u2063 Governor Tim Walz&#8217;s \u2063military\u2063 service\u200d has recently come under scrutiny, especially following his selection as Vice\u2064 President Kamala Harris\u2019s running mate. Throughout his political career, Walz has emphasized \u2062his National\u2064 Guard service, but there\u2063 are \u200dnow concerns regarding the \u2064accuracy of his claims. It has been \u200brevealed\u200c that he did not deploy with his unit when it was called up for Iraq, raising questions about\u200d his \u200bcommitment.<\/p>\n<p>The Harris\u2062 campaign acknowledged the issue\u2062 and \u200crevised \u200dtheir messaging to clarify that Walz \u2062served at the rank of \u2063Command Sergeant Major rather than being a retired Command Sergeant\u200d Major, the latter being a misrepresentation. Records indicate that \u2064his promotion to Command Sergeant Major was retroactively revoked shortly \u200bafter his retirement, with his final rank confirmed as Master Sergeant.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, concerns about the historical accuracy \u2063of his campaign messaging date\u2063 back to\u2062 2005, indicating potential discrepancies regarding the\u200d timeline of his military \u2062accolades.\u200d Walz continued to share outdated\u2062 information\u200d about\u2062 his rank even after it\u200d had been \u2062corrected in official records. The scrutiny raises several \u200dquestions about\u200d his \u200cawareness of this misinformation and its impact on public perception, especially as \u200cthis narrative seems to have been carefully crafted to enhance his political image since his early \u2064congressional campaigns.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz&rsquo;s military service has come under well-deserved scrutiny following his selection as Vice President Kamala Harris&rsquo;s running mate. As a career politician, Walz has long touted his service in the National Guard, yet this service is only now getting close attention as questions arise about how and where he served.<\/p>\n<p>There is no question that Walz bailed on his National Guard unit when it was called up for deployment to Iraq. But it also appears that he has been mischaracterizing his military service since at least 2005.&nbsp;The Harris campaign tacitly acknowledged as much by correcting the record this week. As first&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2024\/08\/08\/harris-walz-military-credentials-00173236\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported in Politico on Thursday<\/a>, the Harris campaign quietly revised their campaign website to remove references of Walz being a &ldquo;retired Command Sergeant Major&rdquo; in lieu of the more technically accurate claim that &ldquo;he once served at the Command Sergeant Major rank.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/08\/tim-walzs-lies-about-his-military-record-include-inflating-his-rank-and-ducking-deployment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">As I wrote in The Federalist<\/a>&nbsp;earlier this week, Walz failed to follow through on his commitment to serve and had his promotion to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-ignored-warnings-about-withdrawing-troops-from-afghanistan-military-leaders-say\/\" title=\"Military leaders say the Biden administration disregarded Afghanistan troop withdrawal warnings.\">command sergeant major<\/a> retroactively revoked shortly after retiring, with his final retired rank being <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-republicans-demand-space-force-commander-be-reinstated-after-being-fired-for-criticizing-marxism\/\" title=\"House Republicans Demand Space Force Commander Be Reinstated After Being Fired For Criticizing Marxism\">master sergeant<\/a>. At the time of this writing, Walz had still not changed his&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/mn.gov\/governor\/about-gov\/timwalz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">official Minnesota biography<\/a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Tim_Walz\/status\/1019683881010724869\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">other social media posts<\/a>&nbsp;to reflect the &ldquo;tweaked&rdquo; messaging.<\/p>\n<p>A deeper analysis of Walz&rsquo;s historical campaign messaging reveals that the recent tweaking may not be the first time he&rsquo;s tried to carefully thread the needle on messaging about his military service, and suggests an intention to mislead voters that runs all the way back to his first campaign for Congress in 2005.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A review of Walz&rsquo;s records shows that he did initially retire as a command sergeant major on May 16, 2005, but it was quickly revised and updated on Sept. 10 of that year. Yet Walz continued to <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20061109042136\/http:\/\/www.timwalz.campaignoffice.com\/index.asp?Type=B_LIST&amp;SEC=%7B0BC782E7-615E-4BA9-8582-25AF2864A4A2%7D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">publish<\/a> his superseded discharge certificate with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tim-walzs-former-squadmate-if-hed-gone-to-iraq-hed-have-been-hiding-under-a-desk-video\/\" title=\"Tim Walz&#039;s Former Squadmate: If He&#039;d Gone to Iraq, He&#039;d Have Been &#039;Hiding Under a Desk&#039; - Video\">command sergeant major rank<\/a> as part of a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20061011215907\/http:\/www.timwalz.campaignoffice.com\/vertical\/Sites\/%7BDD1DDF80-8E82-48D5-8648-607855AC529B%7D\/uploads\/%7B86F5C28D-45F0-4423-84E0-AA8A721FBB0F%7D.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">media packet<\/a>&nbsp;until the <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20061116013309\/http:\/\/www.timwalz.campaignoffice.com\/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&amp;SEC=%7BF4087AC5-328C-4413-893C-AA89215E9960%7D\">week after<\/a> his election victory in 2006.<\/p>\n<p>To what extent did this intentional misinformation, spread by his own campaign, skew media coverage? And why did Walz tighten up his messaging after his election victory? These are questions the American public deserve prompt answers to. Here are eight more.<\/p>\n<p>1) At what point did you learn of the Sept. 10, 2005, revision of your May 16 discharge paperwork showing you were demoted from command sergeant major to master sergeant?<\/p>\n<p>2) Why did you continue to publish this inaccurate and superseded (that is, false) discharge paperwork on your campaign website and only remove it the week after your victory in November 2006?<\/p>\n<p>3) At what point did you first become aware that apart from The Wall Street Journal&rsquo;s David Rogers (in his&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/x59Zg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">March 30, 2006<\/a>, and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20070102024547\/http:\/online.wsj.com\/public\/article\/SB116216454872607291-nDybn_1QnfoZTGdXLUwsfw4H6TU_20061128.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Oct. 30, 2006<\/a>, articles) referring to you, correctly, as a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/morning-wire-group-of-veterans-rescues-hundreds-of-american-allies-judge-blocks-unvaccinated-mom-from-seeing-son-movie-theaters-consider-vaccine-mandates\/\" title=\"Morning Wire: Group Of Veterans Rescues Hundreds Of American Allies, Judge Blocks Unvaccinated Mom From Seeing Son, Movie Theaters Consider Vaccine Mandates\">retired master sergeant<\/a>,&rdquo; other media coverage, which you promoted on your campaign website, erroneously referred to you as a &ldquo;retired command sergeant major,&rdquo; even though you were not one?<\/p>\n<p>4) Did you or anyone affiliated with your campaign ever encourage media on background (or otherwise) to adopt your&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheMattBeebe\/status\/1820845491510493565\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">campaign&rsquo;s revised messaging<\/a>&nbsp;and change their characterization to &ldquo;former command sergeant major?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>5) At what point did you first become aware of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/bloomberg-busts-out-one-hell-of-a-correction-amid-tim-walz-stolen-valor-furor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">media reporting<\/a>, including a book you favorably endorsed which stated you <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/StolenValor1\/status\/1821577079948968374\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">served in Afghanistan<\/a>, that&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/elections\/tim-walz-promoted-media-misrepresentations-of-his-military-service-in-2006-run\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">erroneously described your military service?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>6) At what point in time (if ever) did you attempt to correct or clarify this false characterization of your service?<\/p>\n<p>7) Even today, in various communications and most notably your&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/mn.gov\/governor\/about-gov\/timwalz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">official gubernatorial biography<\/a>,&nbsp;you continue to adopt the honorific &ldquo;Command Sergeant Major Walz retired&rdquo; or formulations like &ldquo;achieved the rank of&rdquo; or &ldquo;once served as&rdquo; when referencing your service. But isn&rsquo;t that false, with &ldquo;retired Master Sergeant Walz&rdquo; being the correct characterization?<\/p>\n<p>8) In your March 20, 2005, <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20050420004957\/http:\/\/www.timwalz.org\/pr.php?pr=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/truth-former-ohio-treasurer-and-2022-senatorial-candidate-josh-mandel-claims-2020-election-stolen-from-trump\/\" title=\"TRUTH: Former Ohio Treasurer and 2022 Senatorial Candidate Josh Mandel Claims 2020 Election Stolen from Trump\">campaign press release<\/a><\/a>, you acknowledged the potential of your unit&rsquo;s upcoming deployment to Iraq and stated &ldquo;I have a responsibility not only to ready my battalion for Iraq, but also to serve if called on.&rdquo; Why, and at what point during the ensuing 58 days before your second retirement was effective did your views on this change?<\/p>\n<p>It remains to be seen if the controversy around how Walz characterized his military service will spin out of control for the Harris-Walz campaign. But if Walz is proud of his service and has nothing to hide, he should have no problem holding a press conference to address all these questions without delay.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      For nearly 20 years, Matt Beebe served as a countermeasures engineer in the Air Force and a contractor in the intelligence community before launching an IT and computer security firm in San Antonio, Texas. He is active in Texas politics and can be found on Twitter @theMattBeebe.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Minnesota Governor Tim Walz&#8217;s military service is facing justified examination after being chosen as Vice President Kamala Harris&#8217;s running mate. As a long-time politician, Walz has frequently highlighted his time in the National Guard, but this aspect of his background is now receiving increased scrutiny due to inquiries about the specifics of his service. It is clear that Walz did not fulfill his commitment to his National Guard unit when it was deployed to Iraq. Furthermore, it seems he has been misrepresenting details of his military career since at least 2005. The Harris campaign acknowledged this by updating their website to clarify that Walz &#8220;once served at the Command Sergeant Major rank,&#8221; rather than inaccurately labeling him as a &#8220;retired Command Sergeant Major.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>As I noted in The Federalist earlier this week, Walz had his promotion to command sergeant major retroactively revoked shortly after retirement, with master sergeant being his final rank. At the time of writing, he had not updated either his official Minnesota biography or social media profiles to reflect these changes.<\/p>\n<p>A closer look at Walz\u2019s past campaign messaging suggests that this recent adjustment may not be an isolated incident; it indicates a pattern of misleading voters dating back to 2005 when he first ran for Congress. Records show that while he initially retired as a command sergeant major on May 16, 2005, this was quickly amended on September 10 of the same year. Nevertheless, he continued using outdated discharge documents listing him as command sergeant major until just after winning election in 2006.<\/p>\n<p>This raises questions about how much influence such misinformation from his campaign had on media portrayals and why there was a shift in messaging following the election victory. The public deserves answers regarding several key issues:<\/p>\n<p>1) When did you learn about your demotion from command sergeant major to master sergeant?<br \/>\n2) Why did you continue using inaccurate discharge paperwork until after your November 2006 victory?<br \/>\n3) When did you realize other media incorrectly referred to you as \u201cretired command sergeant major\u201d despite your actual status?<br \/>\n4) Did anyone from your campaign encourage media outlets to adopt revised terminology regarding your rank?<br \/>\n5) When were you first aware of erroneous reports claiming you served in Afghanistan?<br \/>\n6) Have you ever attempted to correct false representations of your military service?<br \/>\n7) Why do various communications still refer inaccurately to \u201cCommand Sergeant Major Walz retired\u201d instead of \u201cretired Master Sergeant Walz\u201d?<br \/>\n8) In light of acknowledging potential deployment responsibilities during your March 20, 2005 press release, what changed regarding those views before your second retirement?<\/p>\n<p>It remains uncertain whether these revelations will escalate into significant controversy for the Harris-Walz campaign. However, if Governor Walz takes pride in his military background and has nothing concealed, he should readily hold a press conference addressing these inquiries without hesitation.<\/p>\n<p>Matt Beebe brings nearly two decades&#8217; experience as an Air Force countermeasures engineer and intelligence contractor before establishing an IT and computer security firm in San Antonio and engaging actively in Texas politics; follow him on Twitter @theMattBeebe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2120,"featured_media":2321684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Tim-Walz-1.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[37484,27184,5894,36113],"class_list":["post-2321683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-military-service","tag-misrepresentation","tag-politics","tag-tim-walz"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Tim-Walz-1.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2321683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2321683"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2321683\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2321684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2321683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2321683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2321683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}