[Political Junkie Too]

It all doesn’t add up. Letter says he quit May 16. Retired May 16. Not present to sign retirement papers. Demoted in September.

I don't know enough to know what I don't know about these things. The authors of the letter said:

It took a while for the system to catch up to him as it was uncharted territory, literally no one quits in the position he was in, or drops out of the academy. Except him.

From what I can tell from the letter: [comments by me in brackets]

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1. On September 18th, 2001 Tim Walz reenlisted in the Minnesota Army National Guard for six years.

2. In early 2003 he was selected to attend the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy.
   1. The non-resident course consists of two years of correspondence coursework, followed by a two-week resident phase at Fort Bliss, Texas.

   2. First, they will serve for two years after graduation from the academy, or promotion to Sergeant Major or Command Sergeant Major, whichever is later.

   3. Second, if they fail the course they may be separated from the military.

   4. Third, they will complete the course or be reduced to Master Sergeant without board action.

3. [Me:] Two years of correspondence coursework plus two years of service after completing the academy would take us to early 2007 in the timeline, which would be close to the end of Walz's six-year enlistment.

4. In late summer of 2003, First Sergeant Walz deployed with the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion in support of Operation Enduring Freedom to Italy.
   • [Me:] We should assume that Walz was in the midst of the first year of his two-year correspondence coursework at this time.

5. After the units return to Minnesota in the spring of 2004, he was selected by high level Command Sergeants Major to serve in the position of the Command Sergeant Major of the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion.
   • [Me:] Walz would be in the second year of his two-year correspondence coursework at this time.

   • On September 17th, 2004 he was conditionally promoted to Command Sergeant Major.

6. In early 2005, a warning order was issued to the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion, which included the position he was serving in, to prepare to be mobilized for active duty for a deployment to Iraq.

7. On May 16th, 2005 he quit, leaving the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion and its Soldiers hanging; without its senior Non-Commissioned Officer, as the battalion prepared for war.
   • [Me:] Walz's quitting would be two years before the end of his six-year enlistment.

8. On September 10th, 2005 conditionally promoted Command Sergeant Major Walz was reduced to Master Sergeant.

9. The 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion was deployed for 22 months in 2006 - 2007. During this time, they were restricted by Army regulations and could not speak out against a candidate for office.

10. In November 2006 he was elected to the House of Representatives. He claims to be the highest-ranking enlisted service member ever to serve in congress.
    • Even though he was conditionally promoted to Command Sergeant Major less than eight months, quit before his obligations were met, and was reduced to Master Sergeant for retirement. Yes, he served at that rank, but was never qualified at that rank, and will receive retirement benefits at one rank below.

11. Here is part of Tim Walzs response:
    • After completing 20 years of service in 2001, I re-enlisted to serve our country for an additional four years following Sept. 11 and retired the year before my battalion was deployed to Iraq in order to run for Congress.

12. According to his official Report of Separation and Record of Service, he re-enlisted for six years on September 18th, 2001. However, in his response he says that he re-enlisted for four years...

13. The bottom line in all of this is gut wrenching and sad to explain. When the nation called, he quit.
    • He failed to complete the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy.

    • He failed to serve for two years following completion of the academy, which he dropped out of.

    • He failed to serve two years after the conditional promotion to Command Sergeant Major.

    • He failed to fulfill the full six years of the enlistment he signed on September 18th, 2001.

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-PJ

[mad_as_he$$]

Thanks PJ! Nice job!

[TexasGator]

“The non-resident course consists of two years of correspondence coursework, followed by a two-week resident phase at Fort Bliss, Texas.”

That makes more sense. He took the promotion but had other priorities. Not like he was in the regular army.