Our own Liz Collin of Alpha News has pursued the story of Tim Walz’s departure from the National Guard in 2005 just before his unit was deployed to Iraq. Liz has done three interview with Command Sergeants Major that support the story. This 2022 story is her most recent account and includes a video with the third CSM reiterating the facts.
Alpha News editor Anthony Gockowski notes that a spokesman for Walz has previously responded with a statement that the issue had been in the news previously and pointed to a past story in which Walz said “normally this type of partisan political attack only comes from one who’s never worn a uniform” — a classic nonresponse response, but one that may authorize J.D. Vance to raise the issue.
Dave Thul is an old friend of Power Line. He served as a member of the Minnesota National Guard with Weapons Company 1-133 at Al Asad in Iraq. When he wrote us in 2006 to help supply the base with conservative reading material, Power Line readers answered the call. I recall going to the post office to make a large shipment myself. In any event, our posts with messages from Dave Thul are collected here.
Now the Free Beacon is on Walz’s case with a little help from an old video featuring our old friend who now identifies as NeverTrump. Dave conveniently summarized his take on Walz’s exaggerated military record in this 2009 post.
The Free Beacon’s Chuck Ross picks up the story with Walz’s departure from the Guard to run for Congress (and the Free Beacon’s Joe Simonson has more here:
As a first-time congressional candidate in 2006, Walz’s campaign announcement described him as “a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom,” an archived version of the press release shows. Two years earlier, in 2004, Walz organized a protest against then-President George W. Bush in Mankato, Minn. A photo of the rally shows Walz carrying a sign reading “Enduring Freedom Veterans for Kerry.”
Such a title historically applies to someone who served on the ground in Afghanistan during the Global War on Terrorism. Walz, a 24-year veteran of the Army National Guard, spent time in Norway in support of NATO forces and in Italy working in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He had never seen combat, he told Minnesota Public Radio in 2018.
Walz’s claims spurred Iraq war veteran David Thul, a sergeant in the Minnesota National Guard, to approach Walz’s aides at the Democrat’s Mankato office in 2009. Thul filmed the encounter, in which a staffer told Thul she was “not aware” of Walz serving in Afghanistan. Thul went on to present the 2004 photo of Walz, as well as Walz’s website, to another aide, who acknowledged that constituents could get the false impression that Walz served in Afghanistan.
Below is the Thul video accompanying Chuck’s story.
FOOTNOTE: We posted this May 2006 message from Dave updating us on the response to our call for books at the base:
Wow. Really, I’m at a loss for words here. I just got back from a 3 day mission and stopped by the mail room to find nearly 30 more packages of books and magazines. The response has been overwhelming not only in quantity of packages, or in quality of the books and magazines people choose to send, but most of all in the heartfelt notes my soldiers and I have been reading with almost every package.
One woman from California, apparently not having any used books to send, ordered 6 new books from Amazon instead, over 80 dollars worth. And apparently no one listened to the header of your first post — “A note to our Minnesota readers” — because we have received packages from all across the country. At this point with well over 200 books and 300 magazines, my initial idea of passing some books around to my soldiers is moot. Instead I am working with some of the base personnel to set up a small library.
I think it is safe to say that even if the flood of books stopped today, this would still represent the largest collection of conservative American thinking to be found in Iraq. And as Al Asad is a major base in the area, it is likely to be here for several more years at least. I will be sending some photos when I can, and my soldiers have insisted on sending thank you notes to everyone. I don’t think either you or I knew quite what we were starting with this, but where it is leading is truly amazing. I’ll be in touch, and thanks again.
SGT Dave Thul
Dave also qualifies to raise questions regarding Walz’s service.
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