Attacks on Tim Walz's military record distort retirement timeline

Donald Trump's campaign is taking aim at Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz's military record, with the Republican ex-president's running mate J.D. Vance accusing him of abandoning his unit when it was directed to deploy to Iraq. But the claims are misleading; the battalion was officially ordered to go overseas two months after Walz retired from the National Guard, and following his filing to run for Congress.

"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 August 7, 2024 while campaigning in Michigan.

Vance, a US senator from Ohio who served as a uniformed reporter in the Marine Corps and deployed to Iraq from 2005 to 2006, reiterated the attack on X against the Minnesota governor.

Similar claims spread across social media platforms in the days after Vice President Kamala Harris -- who emerged as the presumptive Democratic nominee following President Joe Biden's decision to end his reelection bid -- tagged Walz as her running mate on August 6.

Trump, who avoided draft eligibility during the Vietnam War through multiple deferments, also amplified the criticism of Walz, calling him a "DISGRACE TO OUR COUNTRY" on his Truth Social platform.

Walz, now 60 and in his second term as governor, enlisted in the National Guard when he was 17. He served 24 years in domestic and overseas deployments before ending his career to run for Congress, where he went on to spend a dozen years in the House of Representatives.

"After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform," the Harris campaign said in an August 8 statement, adding that he "would never insult or undermine any American's service to this country" and "thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country."

The attacks on his military record are reminiscent of the "swift boat" campaign that helped sink John Kerry's White House run in 2004.

But they are misleading, the timeline of events shows.

Walz's retirement timeline

Federal Election Commission records indicate that Walz filed to run for office in February 2005 (archived here).

His congressional campaign issued a statement the next month saying the National Guard had announced his battalion could possibly be mobilized to serve in Iraq in the ensuing two years.

"I do not yet know if my artillery unit will be part of this mobilization," Walz said in the statement. He added that he was not dropping out of the race but felt a "responsibility" to serve if called upon and was "dedicated to serving my country to the best of my ability, whether that is in Washington DC or in Iraq."

In May 2005, Walz retired from the National Guard, said Army Lieutenant Colonel Kristen Auge, a spokesperson for the Minnesota National Guard.

Two months later -- in July -- what had been Walz's unit received "an alert order for mobilization to Iraq," Army Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Rossman, the Minnesota National Guard's director of operations, told AFP.

The battalion was mobilized in October of that year and deployed to Iraq in March 2006, according to the Minnesota National Guard. Walz was elected to Congress several months later.

One former colleague told the New York Times that he recalled there had been rumors of a possible deployment to Iraq, but that Walz's decision to seek office came before any official notice. Another told the Washington Post the decision weighed heavily on Walz.

Some former members of Minnesota's National Guard have defended his choice, while others have spoken against him -- including two retired command sergeant majors who penned a paid letter to a state newspaper in 2018 arguing that "when the nation called, he quit" (archived here).

Walz had separately deployed with his unit to Italy in 2003 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the war in Afghanistan, Auge told AFP.

Walz's rank

Some critics have also accused Walz of exaggerating his military rank.

Auge told AFP that "he held multiple positions within field artillery... and culminated his career serving as the command sergeant major for the battalion."

But while Walz reached the rank of command sergeant major, he "retired as a master sergeant in 2005 for benefit purposes because he did not complete additional coursework at the US Army Sergeants Major Academy," she said.

AFP has fact-checked other claims about the 2024 US election here.

W.G. Dunlop contributed reporting for this fact-check.