There’s very little the two men running to be the nation’s next vice president have in common, but the one thing they do share is a history of military service. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz , who as of Tuesday is running alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, served for 24 years as a member of the Army National Guard after voluntarily enlisting at the age of 17.
Sen. J.D.
Vance (R-Ohio), former President Donald Trump’s running mate , served for four years as a member of the Marines. On Wednesday, Vance took a swing at Walz over his military record, repeating viral claims that Walz had “dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him” to Iraq. Vance described Walz’s military record as “stolen valor garbage.
” As a member of the Army National Guard, Walz helped respond to major natural disasters, worked in firearm and artillery training, received commendations as a prolific sharpshooter, and was sent to Italy to support U.S. operations in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
In 2005, Walz ended his military career to pursue a successful run for Congress, he retired honorably with a slew of awards and medals and the rank of master sergeant — an administrative downgrade from command sergeant major, which he had been promoted to earlier in the year but had not completed training for. Vance also accused Walz of feigning a record in active combat: “[Walz] said — and he was making a point about gun control — he said, ‘we shouldn’t a.