Posted on 08/08/2024 7:02:49 AM PDT by Red Badger
The controversy surrounding Tim Walz’s military service has resurfaced following his selection as Kamala Harris’ running mate, with accusations of “stolen valor.”
Stolen valor refers to the act of falsely claiming military service, honors, or awards that one has not earned, often to gain respect or tangible benefits. The Stolen Valor Act of 2013 specifically makes it a federal crime to claim receipt of certain military awards fraudulently, with penalties including fines and imprisonment.
Tim Walz has consistently portrayed himself as “a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom,” the U.S. military operation in Afghanistan initiated after the September 11 attacks.
However, it has come to light that Walz never deployed to Afghanistan, nor did he engage in any combat operations during his military career. His service was primarily in Italy, where he supported NATO forces but did not see action in the Middle East, Free Beacon reported.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported on a 2007 video of Tim Walz falsely claiming he deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
“I spent 24 years in the National Guard, some of that full-time. I was an artilleryman. I deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. My battalion provided base security throughout the European theater from Turkey to England in the early stages of the war in Afghanistan. And that same battalion is now in Iraq at this time,” Walz said in 2007 on CSPAN.
Read more:
In 2009, Iraq War veteran David Thul confronted Walz’s aides at his Mankato office regarding these claims. Thul, armed with knowledge and evidence, filmed the encounter where he pointed out that Walz’s assertions could be interpreted as violations of the Stolen Valor Act.
During this confrontation, Thul informed Walz's aides that such misrepresentations could lead to jail time.
Thul presented evidence indicating that while Walz served in a supportive role, he did not serve in Afghanistan or engage in any combat actions. One aide admitted she was "not aware" of Walz serving in Afghanistan.
Thul went on to present the 2004 photo of Walz, holding a sign that says "Enduring Freedom Veterans for Care," as well as Walz's website, to another aide, who acknowledged that constituents could get the false impression that Walz served in Afghanistan.
“Operation Enduring Freedom is limited to Afghanistan and the airspace directly above,” Thul explained during the encounter. “Congressman Walz is clearly claiming … to be an Enduring Freedom veteran. Nobody disputes the fact that he is not an Afghanistan or Enduring Freedom veteran. So this represents a fairly serious issue.”
"Operation Enduring Freedom is limited to Afghanistan and the airspace directly above," Thul told the aide.
"This right here, under current US law, could get the congressman probably thrown in jail in violation of 2006's Stolen Valor Act, which says it is a federal crime to portray yourself in writing or verbally as having received an award or decoration by Congress that you didn't receive. Congressman Walz is clearly claiming in this picture with this sign to be an Enduring Freedom veteran. Nobody disputes the fact that he is not an Afghanistan or an Enduring Freedom veteran. So this represents a fairly serious issue," he said.
WATCH:
VIDEO AT LINK..........................
David Thul also shared a blog post in 2009 detailing his concerns about Walz’s military record. Thul echoed Rush Limbaugh's 'phony soldier' comment from 2007, referring to the media's tendency to quote 'soldiers' against the war in Iraq whose service and military records turned out to be false.
Read his blog post below:
I was recently elected co-chair of the Steele County Republican Party, but I am not writing in an official capacity. I am also a 17 year member of the MN National Guard, including a 12 month tour for Kosovo and a 22 month deployment for Iraq, but I am not writing on behalf of the MN National Guard or the US Army. I am writing as a combat veteran and a constituent of the Minnesota's 1st Congressional District. My views and opinions are my own.
Tim Walz was elected to Congress in 2006, with a great story of being inspired to run after being turned away at a President Bush campaign event in Mankato. I left for Iraq in early 2006 and was then a resident of Carver County in the 2nd Congressional District, so I didn't pay much attention to his election.
But when I returned from Iraq and became a resident of Owatonna, I found myself curious about my new Congressman. Looking at his website, I saw that he was a National Guard veteran like me, who 'served with his battalion in support of Operation Enduring Freedom'.
Operation Enduring Freedom is the name of the US military operation in Afghanistan, so I was thrilled to learn I was being represented by a combat vet. Tim Walz is a retired Command Sergeant Major from the Minnesota National Guard, so I thought I had left one congressional district represented by a veteran (John Kline, USMC retired) and moved to a new one represented by a veteran.
It took me about two months to realize that Congressman Walz, contrary to the statement on his official congressional website, did not serve in Afghanistan. He served in Italy, in charge of base security. In order to understand this discrepancy, it is useful to know a little bit about military terms.
"In Support Of" means just that, a mission to support a major military operation. It is a vague term even among military members and the military itself. For instance, when I deployed to Kosovo in 2004, my military orders stated "Purpose: Operation Joint Guardian" - while my official discharge papers listed me as being "ordered to active duty in support of Operation Joint Guardian".
Similarly in the civilian world, CNN listed service members who were killed in Afghanistan as having been killed 'in support of the US led Operation Enduring Freedom".
Just in the last week with the uptick in Afghanistan operations, 5 different military personnel that were killed in action were said by local news agencies to have died 'while in support of Operation Enduring Freedom". "In support of Operation Enduring Freedom" and 'Operation Enduring Freedom" are interchangeable phrases, not only for the military but for the general civilian populace as well.
You can read more here.
This is a grey area. There are hundreds of personnel stateside, (military and civilian) analyzing real time audio and video that is used to exploit targets in the Middle East. Cooks in Italy, support pilots that perform activities in the ME. Doctors and nurses in Ramstein support troops in the ME. This really is a grey area.
100% agree. This attack, like Tampon Tim, has also flopped.
They need to find a way to make this stick because the MSM will ignore it
Jail time?
LOL!!
Never happen.
He’s a high-profile democrat in good standing with The Party. As such, he’s untouchable.
it has??? It seems by the hour more and more evidence comes out about tampon Tim claiming he served in enduring freedom...and how do you know the tampon tim attack has flopped?? Because the media has told you as much??
Gee, No one is above the law right?
I posted this on another thread earlier: I am (or have been, in the past) loathe to criticize someone who has served, in any capacity.
But I am done with Democrats.
If this were 1972 and the candidate were George McGovern, I could have found it in myself to rationalize it, and to think that we had political differences, but I would render him default respect for having served as he did in WWII.
But the Democrat Party of 2024 is a very different beast.
In my opinion, any ex-Military who is part and parcel of the 2024 Democrat Party has drawn a defining line that puts them in the category of a domestic enemy of this Republic. The fact that they support what that party does completely repudiates the oath they took to protect and defend this country from its enemies both foreign and domestic.
I may be old fashioned, but I took that oath, and I keep it near to my heart, even if I could not march 20 miles or carry a shipmate up a ladder out of a burning compartment any longer. It means as much to me as the vows I took when I married my wife.
And I don’t think any Democrat who took that oath and supports what that party does can hold both that oath and their actions as a Democrat side by side without one invalidating the other.
I expect Democrat behavior from the likes of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. I don’t see them as having any moral compass that serving in the military often installs in people. Or, used to, at least. But when I see Democrat behavior from people who served, it makes me angry.
I see it as a form of betrayal, and it seems more impactful than if it came from the likes of Clinton, Obama, and Biden, because I know they are scorpions. I fully expect it from them.
In that context, Walz is deserving of all abuse, ridicule, and stripping of any prestige he may have expected to retain from his service. And I hope he gets all of that.
In spades.
Probably not a winning electoral issue on it’s own, not that many veterans. More on point, I don’t know the answers, did he receive an Operation Enduring Freedom medal? He would be issued one for support (in the Army’s estimation). If not, did he ever wear or claim to have received said medal? If they’re both no there’s probably no crime here. Exaggerations, looks like it, but not likely Stolen Valor Act violations.
He did falsely claim to have carried his weapon in war.
“We can make sure those weapons of war that I carried in war is the only place where those weapons are at.” - Tim Walz during a speech to ban AR-15s.
https://x.com/dhookstead/status/1821149283753574840
A democrat doing time for illegal activity?
That’ll be the day.
“I deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. My battalion provided base security throughout the European theater from Turkey to England”
A “theater of war” in common usage means a place where combat is actually taking place. To say that Enduring Freedom had a “European theater” stretches the meaning of the phrase. No bullets were flying in Italy. There were no IEDs on the road. It was nothing but “la dolce vita” in sunny Italia. Ditto England. Ditto Turkey. To pretend otherwise is disingenuous.
Nothing unusual here.
A Democrat who is both a liar and an America-hating communist.
While this won’t be a destroying issue, it shows him as dishonest and undermines his campaign goal of being THE veteran and combined with the way he handled the DUI it undermines his image as the honest DAD in the campaign, these issues show him to be a casual liar and a phony image maker.
Exposing these major insights into his slickness and image manipulating and managing introduces some real doubt in the public about trusting his wholesome working class DAD image, he is clearly a political animal.
When I speak of my USN service I refer to the Cuban Missile Crisis being "my war". But since I served in the blockade on a repair ship deployed to the Caribbean (a floating machine shop with four 5-inch guns to make it a warship) maybe I'll have to call it "in support of" the blockade!
To a 19-year-old Seaman, those were scary times.
When I speak of my time in the Marines, I have to make it clear to people that I am a Vietnam ERA vet and not a Vietnam vet, as I was never sent there. I was a Test Instrument Repairman and Calibration Tech....................
Indeed. I agree. The fact that some Trump/Vance detractors (or just Harris/walz supporters) don’t think a particular tack is working is irrelevant. They are working because they are being talked about
It may not be SV in the truest sense but Walz’s carefully crafted comments (more than once) and web/bio postings were developed to leave the specific and particular impression he is an Afghanistan veteran. He is NOT and THAT is the part that shows what kind of integrity this man really has.
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