Governor of Minnesota Tim Walzformer battalion commander John Kolb‘s alleged post criticizing vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris amid the ‘stolen courage‘ Controversy has surfaced. Several social media users are sharing a screenshot of Kolb’s Facebook post, responding to reports that the Democrat implied he retired as a “command sergeant major,” noting that Walz “did not successfully complete any task” at that rank.
According to the screenshots, the former battalion commander added that he did not condemn Tim Walz’s decision to retire early. “I do not regret Tim Walz’s early retirement from the Minnesota Army National Guard, failure to complete the Sergeants Major Academy, breaching his enlistment contract, or failure to successfully complete a commission as a Sergeant Major,” Kolb reportedly wrote on social media.
Walz’s military record has been under scrutiny since Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance accused him of “stolen valor,” citing a 2018 video shared by the Harris campaign this week in which the Minnesota governor speaks of weapons “that I carried in war.”
“We can make sure that these weapons of war that I carried in war will only be carried in war,” Walz said in the video. The Harris campaign recently issued a statement saying the governor made a slip-up in the clip.
According to the screenshot, Kolb continued: “Without meaning to, he stepped aside for better leadership. Thomas Behrends was the right leader at the right time. He made sacrifices to answer the call and left the training, leadership and care of the soldiers to his family, his business and his brother, a partner in agriculture.”
He added that Walz earned the privilege of being called command sergeant major. “Like a great leader, he ran toward the guns, not away from them. I have no opinion on Mr. Walz’s decision to leave the service at this time. It was his right to retire early. Nor do I have any criticism of his service as an E7 and E8 in the MNARNG. By all accounts and by record, he was a competent Chief of Firing Battery/Gunnery Sergeant and First Sergeant. I cannot say the same about his service when he was in the CSM chair in the topcoat. He did not earn the rank of E9, nor did he successfully complete a mission. It is an insult to the NCO corps that he continues to hold onto the title. I can sit in the cockpit of an aircraft, that does not make me a pilot. Likewise, when the demands of the service and leadership at the highest levels became real, he chose a different path.”
