I strongly suspect that you were never in command of anything: We are trained for war - not for wearing pretty uniforms or drill and ceremony - our whole purpose is to be ready to fight. Commanders, Officers In Charge, Senior enlisted leaders are there to train, lead, guide their men in combat -and take the risks with them.
Given that, he should have called his Retirement Branch and "I'm going to get orders in theater; my men will need me - please put my request for retirement on hold until we get back".
That's what commanders do - and as old as I am now (27 years in uniform and at least one bullet hole), if the Marine Corps would have me back, I'd be on my way over with my troops, right now.
“I strongly suspect that you were never in command of anything:”
Thanks to several that gave informative responses to my post.
You got that right. I’ve never been in command of anything. I’ve not been in the military.
I’ve asked questions about Walz’s service. The only opinion I gave was that I think he lied about his service.
But I don’t want anyone, even Walz, to be judged based on inaccurate or misleading information.