Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, faces scrutiny over claims about his military rank, raising questions about the accuracy of his service record just as he takes the national stage alongside Vice President Kamala Harris.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz (MN) was introduced at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) as a “command sergeant major,” despite having lost that rank before retiring from the Minnesota National Guard.
A Trump 2024 campaign account on X posted a video of Walz’s introduction at an “AAPI Caucus Meeting” during the convention. The video highlighted the discrepancy in Walz’s military rank, noting that he never completed the necessary coursework to retain the title of command sergeant major. Although he was provisionally promoted, his rank was officially rescinded on May 15, 2005, just one day before his retirement from the Minnesota National Guard.
Despite retiring at the lower rank of “master sergeant,” Walz has repeatedly referred to himself as a “retired command sergeant major” throughout his political career. He has made this claim in campaign ads, interviews, and public appearances, suggesting that he served as the top enlisted leader for his battalion. While Walz did hold this position briefly, his re-enlistment was cut short when he opted to retire as his battalion prepared to deploy to Iraq.
Neither Walz nor Vice President Kamala Harris has addressed the inaccuracies in his claims of military rank, or responded to allegations from fellow veterans who assert that Walz retired to avoid deployment. Instead, the Harris-Walz campaign has accused Republicans of trying to undermine his service record.
However, the campaign did clarify one earlier misstatement by Walz. In 2018, Walz had said he carried weapons "in war," a claim the campaign now says was inaccurate, as Walz has never been deployed to a combat zone.
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