“The claims that Republicans have made about Walz focus on three issues: his decision to retire from the Army National Guard in 2005, his rank upon retirement, and a comment he made about carrying weapons \u201cin war.\u201d”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Walz retired in May 2005<\/a>, two months prior to his unit receiving an official deployment order to Iraq. He stated in 2009 that his reasons for retiring<\/a> were to pursue a run for the House of Representatives, which he won the following year, and to avoid conflicts under the Hatch Act, which bars federal employees from engaging in certain political activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Walz filed for his run for office before the National Guard had notified his unit of the possibility of a deployment to Iraq. It\u2019s unclear if, at the time, he already knew that a deployment could be a possibility.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Walz did, in fact, attain the position of Command Sergeant Major. However, after he retired, his title was changed to Master Sergeant, because he did not finish the coursework required<\/a> to retire under the promoted title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a result, it\u2019s accurate to say that he was once a Command Sergeant Major, but not that he was a \u201cretired Command Sergeant Major.\u201d” <\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n “\u201cWe can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at,\u201d Walz said in remarks about an assault weapons ban in 2018<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Walz was deployed as part of the National Guard to Vicenza, Italy, in August 2003 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom but was not in a combat zone<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The phrasing of the statement in his gun control remarks, suggesting that he carried the weapons \u201cin war,\u201d was imprecise. While technically correct given the operation he was part of, it appears to suggest an experience he didn\u2019t have. Walz has openly acknowledged in other interviews<\/a> that he hadn\u2019t seen combat while deployed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Harris campaign has stressed Walz\u2019s training with firearms in response. \u201cIn his 24 years of service, the Governor carried, fired and trained others to use weapons of war innumerable times,\u201d the Harris campaign told Vox in a statement.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n