Walz’s exit from Minnesota National Guard left openings for critics to pounce on his military record

WASHINGTON (AP) — John Kolb, a retired Minnesota National Guard colonel, knew Tim Walz by reputation as an “excellent leader” who adroitly guided the enlisted troops in his field artillery battalion. But Kolb was stunned by what he saw when Walz left the military and entered politics.

Walz retired from the National Guard in 2005 to run for Congress just before his unit received an order to mobilize for the war in Iraq. Then during the campaign, Walz overstated the rank he held at the point he left the service.

“That is not the behavior I would expect out of a senior noncommissioned officer,” Kolb said in an interview.

Those two sides of Walz’s service have been in the spotlight now that the Minnesota governor is the Democratic nominee for vice president. Supporters have lauded Walz’s 24 years of service in the National Guard, where he rose through the enlisted ranks and received an honorable discharge.

“What I know about Tim Walz is he did his job diligently,” said retired Minnesota National Guard Brig. Gen. Jeff Bertrang. “He was in charge of troops under him, and he made sure they were taken care of.”

Republicans have seized on criticism by Guard veterans as a major line of attack on Walz and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Some of that criticism, like Kolb’s, is measured. Others offer harsher appraisals.

It’s far from clear whether Republicans can turn Walz’s military record into a liability. His decades of service stand in contrast with former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee who received a series of deferments to avoid serving in Vietnam, including one attained with a physician’s letter stating that Trump suffered from bone spurs in his feet.

Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, was a Marine Corps corporal,...