Tim Walz embellished his military service record

[Vambram]

Blah blah blah.

My father was in charge of his reserve unit and their unit got deployed twice, both times he didn’t go with. The first time he wasn’t cleared to go by whomever decides such things because he had a heart attack 3 or 4 months prior, and the second time because the deployment orders came after he’d announced his retirement plans waaaaaaay beforehand and they were in the process of structuring the changeover. His age, time served, and changeover plan (his retirement meant his unit was being combined with another one) meant the higher ups decided he should stay back to coordinate the consolidation and equipment move.

Yet, there are like three or four doo dahs on his unit who believe he was ducking deployment and will insist so to this day. All of them being doo dahs that, by the way, ran afoul of him during their tenure there. But you ask them and they’ll say he tucked tail and ran. The heart attack, cardiac cath, the second heart attack he had 5 months after leaving, and the pacemaker they gave him afterwards were apparently a prolonged ruse to avoid deployment.

If you work somewhere with more than 5 other people, there’s a high likelihood one of them will be a doo dah with an axe to grind. Considering retiring from the military isn’t like giving your notice and leaving two weeks later and their orders came after he retired which means well after he announced his intention to retire, the whole “he abandoned his men” thing seems like a bit of a reach.

*ETA: I was just corrected. Deployed 4 times. Apparently they did partial deployments during Desert Storm, asked for volunteers, and enough people volunteered that they didn’t need to issue orders. They didn’t even take all the volunteers. And he was a volunteer that didn’t get picked because there was not a redundancy plan for the role he filled at the time.

Thank you for your response about your father and I honor him and his service in the military.

 

[RDKirk]

My BIL and many military retirees were angry that for years they could not collect a VA disability and retirement simultaneously.

That got partially fixed., but I'm annoyed by that myself.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Do they usually deploy people pushing 40 to the front lines?

Couldn’t tell you, but according to my father, who knows such things, they tend to not deploy people who have a retirement timeline in mind. He said that, for him, he gave a heads up 18 months out his intended retirement date, then an official one at 10-12 months, then an “hard and fast, no turning back” notice around 6ish months before retiring and the changeover process for his leadership began around the 8-10 month mark.

That all being said, he was in the reserves, older than 40, and his retirement meant his unit consolidated with another one, so he kind of started the heads up process further out. He’s fuzzy (and grumpy), but says he submitted paperwork 6 months out.

 

[Vambram]

I'm going to respect the multi-decade veterans decision not to want to deploy as a national guardsman to Bush's military adventure in Iraq.

It's a disgusting political attack to call a veteran dishonorable for it.

I disagree. The ones who started calling Walz out about all this are two retired CSM from the Minnesota Army National Guard. Those two senior NCOs know Walz a lot better than any of us do.

 

[variant]

I disagree. The ones who started calling Walz out about all this are two retired CSM from the Minnesota Army National Guard. Those two senior NCOs know Walz a lot better than any of us do.

So did the veterans that trashed John Kerry's service.

It seems to be a running theme that if you're a liberal and a veteran someone finds a reason to trash your record.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Thank you for your response about your father and I honor him and his service in the military.

It is one of the things he is the very proudest of, so genuinely and with no sarcasm, I accept your honor on his behalf and relay it to him, where it’s received with gratitude.

 

[RDKirk]

I disagree. The ones who started calling Walz out about all this are two retired CSM from the Minnesota Army National Guard. Those two senior NCOs know Walz a lot better than any of us do.

Didn't someone post link that stated Walz had originally gotten promoted ahead of at least one of those guys?

 

[RocksInMyHead]

Didn't someone post link that stated Walz had originally gotten promoted ahead of at least one of those guys?

Yes, post #65.

 

[Vambram]

Didn't someone post link that stated Walz had originally gotten promoted ahead of at least one of those guys?

And after Walz retired, one of those 2 men were promoted to be CSM of that Battalion and deployed with his Battalion to Iraq.

 

[Bradskii]

I disagree. The ones who started calling Walz out about all this are two retired CSM from the Minnesota Army National Guard. Those two senior NCOs know Walz a lot better than any of us do.

But we don't know them and why they decided to vent on this very many years after the events. Maybe this might help. From here: GOP opponent who never served criticizes Gov. Tim Walz's exit from National Guard

'Joseph Eustice, a 32-year veteran of the guard who led the same battalion as Walz, said the governor fulfilled his duty.
"He was a great soldier," Eustice said. "When he chose to leave, he had every right to leave."

Eustice said claims to the contrary are ill-informed and possibly sour grapes by a soldier (Behrends) who was passed over for the promotion to command sergeant major that went to Walz.

Eustice, an Ortonville teacher who describes himself as nonpartisan, said he unequivocally supports the governor's version of events.
"I love him as a soldier; I don't care much for him as a politician," Eustice said of Walz.

Eustice said he recalled talking to Walz in 2005 when they were at Camp Ripley. He said Walz told him he was thinking about resigning the guard and running for Congress.'

 

[Hazelelponi]

I have never hidden the fact I was against the war in Iraq.

After 9/11, I supported the war in Afghanistan and I was encouraging about the boys signing up for military when they turned 18. I thought it was important.

But Bush was a war monger and therefore we discussed as a family whether we could fully support the US with blood because once signed up we would be all in and it might mean Iraq by then (Bush started serious sabre rattling before their 18th birthdays). I didn't believe I could support going into Iraq, but of course boys have their own decisions to make.

I wouldn't have protested the war, there was confusion about the WMD's intelligence and many people thought it was a just war, I simply had serious reservations because things didn't add up for me.

So, with all this said it's likely that I don't have room to talk about anyone who protested the war (which Walz did) or refused to join for military service.

My issue with this situation is that Walz was already signed up for service.

I don't believe you can pick and choose which battles you fight after you sign up. In military you have to depend on the people around you for your very life.

It's not something you can walk away from. It's serious, it's not a joke.

I have to say that I don't respect someone who would walk away from such a responsibility... When people are depending on you.

This I do expect out of my nations leaders, for them to be men and women who will faithfully execute their duties to the people after they sign up for it.

This is an area we need to hold our nations leaders to a very high standard. And it's a standard Walz appears to fail in spectacular fashion.

There's a right way and a wrong way to conduct yourself and coattails don't make good leaders.

 

[Bradskii]

My issue with this situation is that Walz was already signed up for service.

And retired in 2005 after serving since he had been 17. And retired well before any orders had come through to go overseas.

This is a junk claim that the right are trying to convince you has some legs. And it won't take long for you to check it out yourself and to realise that they are lying to you.

But you keep believing it if you like. It makes no difference. Except that those who accept it without thought could be said to be gullible. It does no harm to Walz - people who are going to vote for Trump won't bother checking. But those who know Walz as an honourable man but might have had doubts about giving him and Harris their vote will see the GOP for what they are is dishing up this junk.

Gutter politics of the worse kind.

 

[Hazelelponi]

And retired in 2005 after serving since he had been 17. And retired well before any orders had come through to go overseas.

This is a junk claim that the right are trying to convince you has some legs. And it won't take long for you to check it out yourself and to realise that they are lying to you.

But you keep believing it if you like. It makes no difference. Except that those who accept it without thought could be said to be gullible. It does no harm to Walz - people who are going to vote for Trump won't bother checking. But those who know Walz as an honourable man but might have had doubts about giving him and Harris their vote will see the GOP for what they are is dishing up this junk.

Gutter politics of the worse kind.

He just happened to retire in the middle of his stretch (instead of finishing it) right after being told he was being called up to serve in a war he was protesting?

Yeah.... I'm not buying it. It's just not plausible.

 

[FireDragon76]

The day you go over sufficient time to retire, you're always kind of contemplating retirement. You're really only still in it for the personal satisfaction.

I can remember the very day and moment that personal satisfaction died for me, having to do with a couple of young troops (not mine) who were being strung through the ringer by the commander and had their careers ended for a peccadillo. In fact, their boss actually stood up at the commander's table and challenged, "Which of us didn't do the same thing at that age?"

Nobody could say a word to that. I realized at that point that I'd been in too long.

My father was an officer but had similar experiences in the Air Force. Once you hit retirement there's little motivation to not retire, especially if you aren't on the career track to head up the chain of command. Being effectively a middle level manager in the military takes its toll in all sorts of ways. And as you say, the culture is such that they would rather you just go away so somebody else that's younger gets a shot at promotion. It has nothing to do with patriotism or duty.

 

[Fantine]

But in this case he decided to continue serving his country in a different way--in Congress.

If elected he made a two year commitment to the people of his state and couldn't just go off to war.

As the only non-commissioned military officer ever to serve in Congress, he was a strong powerful voice for his colleagues--even the ones who are bad-mouthing him now.

 

[Postvieww]

"A few drills?" 24 years! Including deployments to Italy and the many disaster recovery sites due to floods, hurricanes, forest fires, etc.
24 years of service is about 23 years 364 days more than 98% of Americans

Serving 24 years does not earn one the right to lie about it no matter how one tries to spin it.

 

[Bradskii]

He just happened to retire in the middle of his stretch (instead of finishing it) right after being told he was being called up to serve in a war he was protesting?

No, he retired, after 24 years of honourable service, before the orders came through to go overseas. Well before. And ye gods, he went straight into public service.

Yeah.... I'm not buying it.

Not surprising when you see the type of people trying to to sell this junk. I mean, it's the equivalent of calling a man who gave so many years of service a coward. You shouldn't stand for these lies. Especially when the guy running for president fought long and hard to avoid serving.

Shameful.

 

[Bradskii]

Serving 24 years does not earn one the right to lie about it no matter how one tries to spin it.

So he's not only being accused of cowardice but a liar into the bargain. What in heaven's name has become of politics in the US?

 

[KCfromNC]

So he's not only being accused of cowardice but a liar into the bargain. What in heaven's name has become of politics in the US?

This is what happens when false accusations are the best that can be found to avoid discussing the unpopular policies of the groups making them.

 

[Fantine]

Serving 24 years does not earn one the right to lie about it no matter how one tries to spin it.

And as has been shown in this thread, it is the spin doctors who are distorting the truth, not Gov. Walz.