Did Command Sergeant Major Walz serve during wartime?

[Procrustes Stretched]

Attacks are accusing Walz of feigning a record in active combat: "[Walz] said - and he was making a point about gun control - he said, ‘we shouldn't allow weapons that I used in war, to be on America's streets.' "Well, I wonder (said JD Vance), Tim Walz, when you ever in war?"

Vance has been exposed actually misquoting Walz in one of his screeds.

In the clip Vance was referencing, Walz says that he "carried" weapons in war, not "used." Given that Operation Enduring Freedom was a part of the post-9/11 War on Terror, and that Walz was deployed to Italy under it - and likely had a service weapon - the claim that he is engaging in "stolen valor" holds little water.

Vance spoke on Wednesday as if he served more honorably than Walz, noting that he went to Iraq "I did it, I did what they asked me to do and I did it honorably," he said The senator was deployed for six months in Iraq as a combat correspondent in 2005 as part of the Marines' Public Affairs office. He - like Walz - never engaged in active combat and has stated that he was "lucky to escape any real fighting," during his deployment.
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"Though Walz did achieve the rank of command sergeant major, it was a provisional rank until he completed required coursework for senior leaders, National Guard officials said. He did not do so by the time he departed the military and his retirement rank reverted to master sergeant on May 15, 2005, officials said."

The people-of-the-cult need to stop disrespecting military men and women in order to go after Walz

https://www.defense.gov/casualty.pdf

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

"Walz, asked by the oral history interviewer where his combat experience occurred, said initially that his unit — the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery — had served “throughout the European theater with Operation Enduring Freedom,” the name the Pentagon used to describe the war in Afghanistan and other counterterrorism assignments. A Minnesota Army National Guard history of Walz’s battalion verifies that the unit deployed in 2003 to Italy, Turkey, Belgium and Britain in support of the war effort."

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

The right and now it's the forces of MAGA, have always tried muddying and distorting facts. The convoluted arguments regarding Walz and his military service is a great example. WAPO (cub reporters?) is falling for the narratives put forth by MAGA and others.

ex:

During a gubernatorial campaign event in 2018 that “we can make sure those weapons of war that I carried in war” are not on America’s streets. Walz did not serve in combat, according to the Minnesota Army National Guard, and his Republican counterpart jumped on those comments.

“He said we shouldn’t allow weapons that I used in war to be on America’s streets,” JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, said during a campaign event in Michigan. “Well, I wonder. Tim Walz, when were you ever in war?”

The Harris campaign, in response to those comments, said in its statement to The Post that Walz carried, fired and trained others how to use “weapons of war innumerable times.” It declined to address why Walz claimed incorrectly to have done so in war.

The last paragraph. Walz did not incorrectly say anything.

Some of us have addressed this before:

Vance also accused Walz of feigning a record in active combat: "[Walz] said - and he was making a point about gun control - he said, ‘we shouldn't allow weapons that I used in war, to be on America's streets.' Well, I wonder, Tim Walz, when you ever in war?"

The senator actually misquoted Walz in his screed. In the clip Vance was referencing, Walz says that he "carried" weapons in war, not "used." Given that Operation Enduring Freedom was a part of the post-9/11 War on Terror, and that Walz was deployed to Italy under it - and likely had a service weapon - the claim that he is engaging in "stolen valor" holds little water.

Vance spoke on Wednesday as if he served more honorably than Walz, noting that he went to Iraq "I did it, I did what they asked me to do and I did it honorably," he said The senator was deployed for six months in Iraq as a combat correspondent in 2005 as part of the Marines' Public Affairs office. He - like Walz - never engaged in active combat and has stated that he was "lucky to escape any real fighting," during his deployment.

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

And yes, Walz did achieve the rank of command sergeant major.

So, it was a provisional rank. Does that mean what the attackers are claiming it means?

 

[Frankeneinstein]

What war was he in?

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

What war was he in?

Given that Operation Enduring Freedom was a part of the post-9/11 War on Terror
.
You people-of-the-cult need to stop disrespecting military men and women in order to go after Walz

 

[JLW]

Walz serviced his country admirably. It is just the Trump cult that hate the military because their leader has called those that have served the nation "losers" and "suckers."

 

[leftwinger]

So he's a Commee lying DemWitted Criminal sap.........like you and your KKKlan of criminals. //

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

Operation Enduring Freedom was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage of the War in Afghanistan and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. Wikipedia

Badges

How many vets here wore/wear one?

 

[MarcATL]

What war was he in?

The question was asked if Walz served during wartime. Yes. or No?

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

The question was asked if Walz served during wartime. Yes. or No?

Walz deployed with the Minnesota National Guard in August 2003 to Vicenza, Italy, as part of support for the US war in Afghanistan, according to a Minnesota Guard spokesperson. He did not deploy to Afghanistan or Iraq or a combat zone as part of his service.

Operation Enduring Freedom was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage of the War in Afghanistan and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism.