When Tim Walz retired from the Army National Guard before deploying to Iraq, he told very few of his fellow soldiers that he was deserting their unit — leaving even his commanding officer in the dark and going over his head for to leave, The Post has learned.
The Democratic vice presidential candidate and Minnesota governor “went behind everybody’s back,” according to Thomas Behrends, who replaced Walz in the summer of 2005 to prepare 500 troops for combat in Iraq.
Allegations of stolen valor have dogged Walz for years, but they came to a head last week when veterans on both sides of the political divide questioned his military record after Vice President Kamala Harris announced that he would its candidate.
“If Walz had any integrity, he would have told everybody,” Behrends, a retired command sergeant major, told The Post about how Walz resigned. “There was something really strange about the way he did it.”
Walz did not inform Doug Juli, the command sergeant major at the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery of the Minnesota National Guard and Walz’s superior, Behrends said.
“It is very rare [for Walz] to not go to the next level, to the NCO that was Doug Julin,” said John Kolb, a retired colonel who served in Walz’s unit.
Instead, Walz handed over his documents to two senior officers who were superior to Julini, Behrends alleged.
David Eliciero, commander of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 34th Infantry Division, would have had to sign off on the retirement, and Walz’s application would also have crossed the desk of Thomas Shoemaker, who was in charge of personnel. for the unit. , Behrends said. Neither responded to calls for comment.
Behrends said it was he, not Walz, who informed Juli of Walz’s retirement plans in the summer of 2005, when they were both at Camp Ripley military training center near Little Falls, Minn., preparing to settle in Iraq.
Julin apparently expected Walz to show up—and was allegedly surprised to see Behrends, who had taken Walz’s role as CSM.
“You can just see it turn red,” Behrends said of Juli. “That was what distinguished him most – the people on him knew it [of Walz’s retirement] but he had no idea. Doug was overlooked because, I think, [Walz] he knew he would say ‘no’.
“There was some kind of dirty, behind-the-scenes deal,” Behrends claimed, adding that Walz likely felt other senior officers would be better suited.
Julin did not return repeated requests for comment.
Walz, 60, had previously told Julin 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 last week.
Julin said doing both wasn’t “a big deal” and noted that members of Congress have made decisions in the past, the paper reported.
Walz’s congressional campaign released a statement in March 2005 saying he still planned to run despite the possibility that he would be drafted into combat. He retired two months later, in May 2005, according to the National Guard.
Walz, who spent 24 years in the Army National Guard in Nebraska and Minnesota, retired to run for Congress before a “stop loss order” was issued for his unit in July 2005, Behrends said. At that point, only soldiers who develop an illness that prevents them from going into combat can be excused from military service, he explained.
In July 2005, the Department of the Army issued a mobilization order for the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery. According to reports, the unit was mobilized on October 12 of that year and deployed to Iraq in late March 2006 after training at Camp Shelby, Mississippi.
Although Walz was not required by National Guard rules to tell Julini that he was planning to retire, many of the veterans contacted by The Post said it was a “lack of courtesy” not to inform other soldiers, especially those in a command position. .
Walz was the only member of his unit to leave, according to Jon Erickson, a former command chief in the Minnesota National Guard.
“There is a process,” said Erickson, 57, who told The Post he personally gave notice six months ago and made it a point to tell his commanding officer when he retired from the National Guard. of Minnesota.
“We didn’t have anyone who didn’t go to Iraq. “Everyone was dedicated.”
Other veterans in Walz’s unit said they were disappointed with the way Walz left.
“Julin was right to think it should have been run through him. It was irregular that Tim’s request to withdraw was not made to Doug up the NCO chain,” Kolb said.
When Walz retired, he used his rank as command sergeant major in campaign literature and later on his congressional website, further angering veterans who say the rank was not earned. Walz needed to complete two more years of service before he could say he retired with that rank, they said.
Last week, the Harris-Walz campaign updated Walz’s online biography, removing a reference to him as a “retired command sergeant major.” It now says Walz once served in the rank of command sergeant.
As a result of his hasty retirement, Walz saddled other soldiers with his responsibilities, Kolb said.
“It’s very painful for a lot of people, including Tom Behrends, who took his seat at great personal expense,” Kolb said. “It is debatable whether he kept his commitments. In the military it’s a big deal when someone walks away from their commitments… A sergeant major is a giant and sets the standard and is about upholding the standard.”
Walz’s office did not return a request for comment.
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