VP pick Tim Walz faced accusations in 2006 of embellishing his military service, which he called slander

By Andrew Kaczynski, CNN

(CNN) — Newly selected Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is facing scrutiny over his military service record, with critics, including his Republican rival Sen. JD Vance, accusing Walz of falsely suggesting he saw combat during his time as an Army reservist.

It’s not the first time Walz has encountered such criticism.

A CNN KFile review reveals that similar accusations were made in 2006, during Walz’s first run for Congress. That year, multiple letters to his local paper in Mankato, Minnesota, accused him of making misleading statements about his service, including whether he had served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Walz found the accusations serious enough that he personally responded to them both.

At issue were a selection of political ads and statements on Walz’s website describing his overseas military service. While they described Walz as having served overseas in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, they neglected to specify that he did so while serving in Italy, not Afghanistan.

Walz was more specific in other statements and interviews with the media from 2006, in which he did say that, “by luck of the draw,” he was posted to Italy, and not Afghanistan.

Recent scrutiny of Walz’s service record renewed after the Harris campaign posted a video of Walz speaking about his decision to change his position and support an assault weapons ban following the 2018 Parkland shooting. In the video, Walz states, “We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at.”

How Walz described his service

In 2006, Walz heavily leaned into his brand as a soldier, focusing on his military service and teaching career to portray him as an everyman. But Walz never explicitly said he faced combat.

Walz’s official 2006 campaign biography read, “Prior to retiring, Walz served overseas with his battalion in support of Operation Enduring Freedom,” and his website’s front page prominently featured him in military uniform.

One TV advertisement called Walz “the soldier who served for two decades but ready when they attacked,” with an image of the Twin Towers burning on the front page of a newspaper.

The ad said he was a “command sergeant major, retiring four years late after a tour supporting the war in Afghanistan,” over an image of a newspaper article headline reading, “Troops welcomed home,” with a photo of Walz saluting on his local paper the New Ulm Journal.

Another ad attacked his opponent for not voting for pay increases for soldiers and voting to raise the salary of members of Congress.

“When we deployed many in my unit took a pay cut,” Walz said in another ad. “He gives himself a pay raise, but he tells the soldiers no.”

Endorsements on his official website, including from retired Gen. Wesley Clark and former Sen. John Kerry, noted his military experience.

Walz was deployed between 2003 and 2004 to Europe to support Operation Enduring Freedom, but was never deployed to Afghanistan, where the operation occurred.

Criticism prompts Walz response

In 2006, the Walz campaign’s description of his service drew pushback in separate letters to the editors.

One letter to his local paper said the Walz campaign’s phrasing suggested service in Iraq or Afghanistan.

“It strongly suggests that he fought in Iraq or Afghanistan, but does not say which country,” read the letter archived online here from July 2006. “Because the information is not classified, Walz can tell the voters where he deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan and his BOG (boots on the ground) dates. If Walz did not deploy downrange, he should say so.”

The letter caused a string of letters in support of Walz.

“I was wondering when the Republicans would start ‘swift boating’ Tim Walz,” read one. “Tim Walz has never lied about his service. I have heard him speak several times, and he always explains that the battalion he led was sent to Italy during Operation Enduring Freedom to provide support to the U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan.”

Walz himself personally responded.

“On Saturday The Free Press printed a letter which implied I embellished my military record. The details of my record can be easily found in numerous articles by The Free Press and other newspapers. Therefore, I must assume that the letter is meant to slander my good name,” wrote Walz.

“For the record, I served 24 years in the Army National Guard and retired as a command sergeant major in May of 2005. I served in three NATO training missions to the Arctic and deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, serving in Italy in 2003-2004,” he said.

“Using innuendo to defame a candidate’s character has no place in this debate,” he added. “This nation must do better because we have too many important issues facing us to do anything less.”

One person who wrote a letter supporting Walz was Sgt. Ryan Marti, a former member of Walz’s battery who was deployed in Iraq at the time. Marti said members of his unit were extremely supportive and glad to see Walz run for Congress.

“In 2003, we were stationed in Italy at the beginning of the Iraq invasion,” Marti told CNN. “He’d been serving since I think he was 17 when he joined up. … An opportunity that he never planned for came up to do something bigger. No one in the unit felt bad about this. I mean, a lot of us were extremely happy, and a lot of the teachers at school were happy.”

Walz accurately described his service in an interview that year with the Minneapolis-St. Paul City Pages in June 2006.

“I did 10 months with Operation Enduring Freedom, where, by luck of the draw, I served in Italy. It was originally Turkey or Iraq and then they changed it to Enduring Freedom and I said, ‘That’s Afghanistan.’ But they said, ‘You guys are going to do the supply lines between Turkey and England.’ We provided total base security and the training for soldiers coming in,” he said.

In November 2006, the same allegation was leveled at Walz.

“Through artful omission, Walz is leaving the impression that he served in the combat zones of the current conflict,” read another letter to the editor in a local paper in November 2006.  “The truth is that he served in Italy. There is a significant difference between Walz’ garrison service in Italy and the extreme danger young men and women are facing in the combat zones of Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Walz again responded.

“I am writing in response to Tom Hagen’s lies about my service record,” Walz wrote at the time. “My biography on my official campaign website simply states that ‘prior to retiring, Walz served overseas with his battalion in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.’”

“From this, Mr. Hagen makes the ridiculous claim that I am misleading voters that I served in combat in Iraq. After completing 20 years of service in 2001, I re-enlisted to serve our country for an additional four years following Sept. 11 and retired the year before my battalion was deployed to Iraq in order to run for Congress,” he added.

”I’m proud of the 24 years I served our country in the Army National Guard. There’s a code of honor among those who’ve served, and normally this type of partisan political attack comes only from one who’s never worn a uniform,” he added. “Mr. Hagen, if you were confused about my service, you could have checked my Web site, or simply had the decency to call and ask me. When you dishonor a veteran, you dishonor all soldiers and veterans. You owe an apology to all those who serve honorably.”

CNN’s Danya Gainor and Allison Gordon contributed to this report.

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