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Vance Slimes Walz Service Record

In July 2005, two months post-Walz's retirement, his battalion receives orders to deploy to Iraq.

Published August 10, 2024 at 5:04am by

JD Vance criticizes Tim Walz's military career during VP announcement

Statement: “When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, do you know what he did? He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him."

Ratings: Mostly False

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, attacked the military record of Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, Tim Walz, saying: "When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, he dropped out of the Army and left his unit."

Vance's statement is misleading as it distorts the timeline of events leading to Walz's retirement from the Minnesota National Guard in May 2005. Walz had submitted retirement paperwork months earlier, before his unit received official deployment orders to Iraq in July 2005.

While Walz's battalion was notified about a possible deployment in March 2005, it was not a definite order, and Walz had already filed his candidacy for Congress in February 2005.

Walz served in the National Guard for 24 years, specializing in heavy artillery and responding to floods and tornadoes. He has been criticized by some fellow guard members for his retirement decision, while others have defended him.

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