Tim Walz's Military Service: Truth or Misrepresentation?

A few hours before he spoke, a Democratic super-PAC called Priorities USA Action and the American Federation of Teachers announced a "six-figure" buy for a Mr. Chips-style ad that featured a former student of "Mr. Walz" recalling her teacher's efforts to make the classroom comfortable for kids of all political stripes.

At almost the same moment, the Trump-Vance campaign released an open letter signed by 50 Republican members of Congress who are military veterans accusing Walz of "blatant misrepresentations" about his 24 years of service in the National Guard.

At issue is Walz saying he had left the National Guard as a "retired command sergeant major;" while he had achieved that rank, he retired one step lower. The letter criticized him for saying in 2018 that he had carried weapons "in war" when he hadn't been deployed in combat, only in support operations.

The letter also said Walz had "turned your back on your troops," a reference to his decision to retire as he began his first campaign for Congress and as speculation swirled that his unit was going to be deployed to Iraq.

Walz didn't respond directly to them, but he did describe his pride in enlisting as soon as he turned 17. A video before he spoke showed interviews with two men with whom he served, praising his leadership.