Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is under fire after his former commander revealed that Walz retired to avoid a deployment to Iraq, despite knowing about it months in advance.
Retired Army Command Sergeant Major Doug Julin confirmed on Friday that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, now the Democratic vice presidential candidate, knew months in advance that he was slated to deploy to Iraq—well before he chose to retire and avoid the deployment.
Julin, who was Walz's former commander, revealed that Walz, then a Command Sergeant Major of his battalion, had assured him he would lead his unit into Iraq. However, Julin later discovered that Walz had bypassed him and sought approval for his retirement from higher-ups before the deployment could proceed.
In an interview with CNN, Julin recounted that senior leaders were informed in the fall of 2004 about an impending deployment to Iraq, receiving a "notification of sourcing" which instructed them to start preparing their units. Following this notification, Julin met with Walz’s battalion, at which time Walz was serving as the senior enlisted leader. Although Walz was conditionally holding the rank of Command Sergeant Major, he would later retire at the lower rank of Master Sergeant due to incomplete requirements.
Julin recalled a meeting with Walz in February 2005, where Walz informed him that he had put in a bid to run for Congress. Despite this political ambition, Walz assured Julin the following month that he would still lead his battalion into Iraq.
However, by June 2005, Julin noticed that Walz was no longer present at meetings, having been replaced by Command Sergeant Major Tom Behrends. It was at this point that Julin realized Walz had retired, circumventing him in the process.
Julin expressed frustration over the situation, noting that Walz was well aware of military procedures and intentionally went around him to secure retirement. He suggested that Walz might have anticipated a denial of his retirement request and sought to sidestep the chain of command.
Julin emphasized that while the official deployment orders had not yet been issued, Walz was fully aware of the upcoming deployment. “People say he never knew he was going forward [to Iraq]. Yeah, he knew he was going forward,” Julin stated.
CNN reported that they reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign for comment but had not received a response.
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