Several Veterans charge against choice of "coward" and "traitor" Walz as Kamala's VP

The choice of Tim Walz as Kamala Harris' dance partner for the November election has put a group of veterans on a war footing, who accuse the radical Minnesota governor of "cowardice" and "treason" for leaving a military career when he was deployed to Iraq. Prominent among the most offended was retired Command Sergeant Major Thomas Behrends, the man who took his place on the dangerous mission.

In a conversation with The New York Post, Behrends was very harsh on his former comrade in arms, whom he defined as someone who he would never choose as vice president for the "cowardice" of abandoning his men on the eve of a high-risk mission on the ground:

"When your country calls, you are supposed to run into battle — not the other way. He had the opportunity to serve his country, and said ‘screw you’ to the United States. That’s not who I would pick to run for vice-president."

Three of Walz's former comrades lost their lives in Iraq

Walz left his military career to run for Congress in 2005 after 24 years of service in the National Guard. However, his battalion - the 1st Battalion of the 125th Field Artillery - had been chosen to deploy to Iraq months earlier, which explains the anger of his former comrades, who saw three of their own lose their lives on this mission, including Kyle Miller, a 19-year-old enlisted.

His battalion's unease against Walz is not new. In 2018, when he first ran for governor of Minnesota, Behrends and another Command Sergeant Major, Paul Herr, wrote a letter to the West Central Tribune accusing Walz, who had just been promoted with conditions to Command Sergeant Major, of "leaving the 500 men under his command hanging."

"On May 16th, 2005 he quit, leaving the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion and its soldiers hanging; without its senior Non-Commissioned Officer, as the battalion prepared for war. His excuse to other leaders was that he needed to retire in order to run for congress. Which is false, according to a Department of Defense Directive, he could have run and requested permission from the Secretary of Defense before entering active duty; as many reservists have."

Criticism of Walz for using a rank to which he is not entitled

It is precisely Walz's use of the rank of "Command Sergeant Major" in his campaigns that is another aspect of the governor that both officials criticize. According to the legislation, Walz was demoted to Sergeant Major by failing to meet the two-year minimum he was required to stay with the battalion to solidify his new position.

Another Iraq veteran, Tom Hagen, wrote a 2006 missive to the editor of the Winona Daily News criticizing the then-congressional candidate's behavior: "But even more disturbing is the fact that Walz quickly retired after learning that his unit -southern Minnesota's 1-125 FA Battalion - would be sent to Iraq. For Tim Walz to abandon his fellow soldiers and quit when they needed experienced leadership most is disheartening." 

Debunking Walz's lies on his service record

Walz's response to his former comrade, asserting that he re-enlisted after 9/11, in 2001, and for a 4-year term, which would justify leaving after serving the stipulated time, and not for avoiding deployment to Iraq, was also strongly disproved by Herr and Behrends. First, because they both claim that the return period was six years, as recorded in their official separation report and service record and, second, that the departure date would likewise be September 18, not in May. In any case, he had acceded to serve two more years for his new position and the deployment to Iraq was confirmed. The final paragraph of the missive is not to be missed: 

"The bottom line in all of this is gut wrenching and sad to explain. When the nation called, he quit. He failed to complete the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy. He failed to serve for two years following completion of the academy, which he dropped out of. He failed to serve two years after the conditional promotion to Command Sergeant Major. He failed to fulfill the full six years of the enlistment he signed on September 18th, 2001. He failed his country. He failed his state. He failed the Minnesota Army National Guard, the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion, and his fellow Soldiers. And he failed to lead by example. Shameful."