Former leader of Walz's battalion publishes scathing message aimed at governor's military career: Report

The battalion commander of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s former Minnesota Army National Guard unit issued a scathing message to Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate amid mounting "stolen valor" accusations, according to media reports. 

"I do not regret that Tim Walz retired early from the Minnesota National Guard, did not complete the Sergeants Major Academy, broke his enlistment contract or did not successfully complete any assignment as a Sergeant Major. Unwittingly, he got out of the way for better leadership," John Kolb wrote on Facebook, the Daily Mail reported. 

Kolb served as a lieutenant colonel of the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery from 2005 to 2007, the Minnesota National Guard shows on its website. Walz served in the same battalion until 2005, when he retired ahead of the battalion deploying to Iraq that same year. 

Kolb now works as an attorney in Minnesota. Fox News Digital contacted Kolb for confirmation on the Facebook post and additional comment on Walz’s military service but did not receive a reply prior to publication.

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Democratic vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, speaks during a campaign event on Aug. 7, 2024 in Detroit. Vice President Kamala Harris and Walz are campaigning across the country this week. (Andrew Harnik)

Walz has come under mounting criticism for "stolen valor," including veterans slamming him for saying he is a "retired Command Sergeant Major." Walz had earned the rank of command sergeant major before his retirement, but his rank was reduced months after retiring to master sergeant, as he did not complete the required coursework with the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy. 

The "retired Command Sergeant Major" rank was promoted by the Harris campaign until last week, when it changed Walz’s biography to read that he "served as a command sergeant major."

Walz retired from the Minnestoa Army National Guard in 2005 after 24 years of service. He then launched a successful congressional campaign and was sworn in as a member of the U.S. House representing Minnesota in 2007. 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks before President Biden at Dutch Creek Farms, Nov. 1, 2023 in Northfield, Minnesota. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Kolb continued in his social media post that he does not have a comment on Walz retiring early, as it was "his right to retire early," but that he is fraudulently using the retired command sergeant major rank. 

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"By all accounts and on the record, he was a competent Chief of Firing Battery/Gunnery Sergeant and First Sergeant. I cannot say the same of his service sitting, frocked, in the CSM [command sergeant major] chair. He did not earn the rank or successfully complete any assignment as an E9," he said. 

"He did not earn the rank or successfully complete any assignment as an E9," Kolb wrote in the reported social media post. "It is an affront to the Noncommissioned Officer Corps that he continues to glom onto the title. I can sit in the cockpit of an airplane, it does not make me a pilot. Similarly, when the demands of service and leadership at the highest level got real, he chose another path."

People take their seats ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris' rally with her newly chosen vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, in Philadelphia on Aug. 6, 2024. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

"​'It is an affront to the Noncommissioned Officer Corps that he continues to glom onto the title," Kolb continued. "I can sit in the cockpit of an airplane, it does not make me a pilot. Similarly, when the demands of service and leadership at the highest level got real, he chose another path."

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Kolb tagged retired Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Behrends in the post, according to the Daily Mail, who replaced Walz in the battalion when he retired, and lauded the veteran as a "great leader."

"​​Thomas Behrends was the right leader at the right time. He sacrificed to answer the call, leaving his family, business and farming-partner brother to train, lead and care for soldiers. He earned the privilege of being called Command Sergeant Major," he wrote. 

"Like a great leader he ran toward and not away from the guns." 

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Behrends has been sounding the alarm about Walz's military career since last week, when Harris first announced the Minnesota governor as her 2024 running mate. 

Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appeare on stage together during a campaign event at the Liacouras Center at Temple University on Aug. 6, 2024 in Philadelphia. Harris ended weeks of speculation about who her running mate would be, selecting the 60-year-old Midwestern governor over other candidates. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

"He's used the rank that he never achieved in order to advance his political career," Behrends told Fox News host Laura Ingraham last week. "I mean, he still says he's a retired command sergeant major to this day, and he's not. He uses the rank of others to make it look like he's a better person than he is."

Reports of Kolb's Facebook post have since spread across social media, including Donald Trump Jr, former President Trump’s son, writing, "Tim Walz's Battalion Commander absolutely destroys him over his Stolen Valor. How long is the leftwing media going to keep ignoring all of this?"

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The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Kolb’s post. 

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