Tim Walz Left National Guard Battalion ‘hanging,’ ‘slithered out the door’ Before Iraq Deployment: Vets; National Guard Vet Claims Walz Went Above Him On Retirement: ‘He knew I would have told him, ‘Suck it up”

Tim Walz left National Guard battalion ‘hanging,’ ‘slithered out the door’ before Iraq deployment: vets:

Veterans have accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz of “embellishing” his military career and abandoning his National Guard battalion, highlighting that the now-vice presidential pick for the Democrats never served in combat and retired from service ahead of his unit’s 2005 deployment to Iraq.

In a letter posted to Facebook in 2018 as he first ran for governor, retired Command Sergeants Major Thomas Behrends and Paul Herr said Walz retired from his 24-year tenure in the National Guard after learning that his battalion would be deployed to Iraq, despite allegedly assuring his fellow troops he would join them.

“On May 16th, 2005, [Walz] quit, betraying his country, leaving the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion and its Soldiers hanging; without its senior Non-Commissioned Officer, as the battalion prepared for war,” Behrends and Herr wrote.

Walz, 60, wrapped his military career just in time for him to launch his political career the following year, successfully running for Congress in 2006.

Behrends and Herr criticized him for leaving the National Guard for Congress despite being fully aware that he could have requested permission from the Pentagon to seek office while on active duty.

Walz further dodged the necessary paperwork to ensure a smooth transition out of military service and “instead … slithered out the door,” the pair added, with his retirement filing showing “soldier not available for signature.”

The National Guard members also accused the now-two-term Minnesota governor of having “embellished and selectively omitted facts of his military career for years.” —>READ MORE HERE

National Guard vet claims Walz went above him on retirement: ‘He knew I would have told him, ‘Suck it up”:

A former National Guard colleague has accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz of going above him to secure his retirement on the brink of their unit’s deployment nearly 20 years ago, believing that he would have told the then-political hopeful, “Suck it up, we’re going.”

Doug Julin, who oversaw Walz as a more senior command sergeant in the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery, of the Minnesota National Guard, recalled that the future governor approached him in 2005 with some career questions.

Walz, now 60, told Julin that he was prepared for the unit’s upcoming deployment to Iraq, but said he was also interested in running for Congress, Julin told the Washington Post.

Julin said it was “no big deal,” and noted that members of Congress had deployed in the past.

A few months later, Julin found out from another Guard member that Walz had retired after all — which he secured by going through two officers who outranked Julin.

“I would have analyzed it and challenged him. It would have been a different discussion, but he went to the higher ranks. He knew I would have told him, ‘Suck it up, we’re going,’” Julin claimed.

Other former colleagues have criticized him for leaving the National Guard for Congress despite being fully aware that he could have requested permission from the Pentagon to run for office while on active duty. —>READ MORE HERE

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