Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, has recently found himself embroiled in controversy regarding the nature of his previous military service.  Before running for Congress in the mid-2000s, the Minnesota Governor served in the Minnesota Army National Guard.  However, reports indicate that Walz may have been dishonest about his rank.

As a result, Tom Schilling, a veteran who formerly served in Walz’s battalion, spoke to Fox News’ Jesse Watters, where he blasted the Minnesota governor for “ditching” the unit.  “We all did what we were supposed to do, we did the right thing,” Schilling said earlier this week.”It’s dishonorable what he did. He left somebody else up to take over his spot. He just ditched us.”

“It would be a disaster if he ever got to be the commander-in-chief,” Schilling further criticized Walz, who was recently selected to be Harris’ running mate.  “He probably knew he wasn’t a good leader and he wanted to do something else, and we did get a really good leader with Command Sgt. Behrends,” he added.

Schilling also called out Walz’s leadership during challenging times, such as the pandemic and the violent riots that broke out in 2020.  The veteran suggested Walz would not have served well overseas.  “When I see the leadership that Walz offered to Minnesota,” Schilling said.  “I’m thankful he didn’t come over there, or we’d have brought back a lot more body bags. Tom Behrends, he saved a lot of lives for us by being a good leader.”

When asked about Walz’s remarks about carrying a weapon during war, Schilling claimed this was “stolen valor.” He said, “There you go with the stolen valor again. It’s what he made up to advance himself in a political world.”

Ret. Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Behrends, who previously served alongside Walz, has also spoken out publicly against the Minnesota Governor.  “He’s used the rank that he never achieved in order to advance his political career,” Behrends claimed. “I mean, he still says he’s a retired command sergeant major to this day, and he’s not. He uses the rank of others to make it look like he’s a better person than he is.”

Army Lt. Col. Ryan Rossman, Minnesota National Guard’s Director of Operations, issued a statement to Fox News that shed more light on Walz’s questionable military service. “He held multiple positions within field artillery such as firing battery chief, operations sergeant, first sergeant, and culminated his career serving as the command sergeant major for the battalion. He retired as a master sergeant in 2005 for benefit purposes because he did not complete additional coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy.”

The Harris-Walz campaign recently addressed the backlash regarding the governor’s disputed military service, stating,”After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he chaired Veterans Affairs and was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform — and as our Vice President of the United States, he will continue to be a relentless champion for our veterans and military families.”

Featured image credit:  Office of Governor Tim Walz & Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, PDM-owner, via Wikimedia Commons,