Former member of Gov. Walz's battalion says he 'ditched' them, accuses Walz of 'stolen valor'

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Member of Gov. Walz's battalion says he 'ditched' them

Tom Schilling, a member of Gov. Tim Walz's battalion, says his actions were 'dishonorable' on 'Jesse Watters Primetime.'

Tom Schilling, a veteran who served in the same battalion as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, said Walz "ditched" him and other soldiers before they were deployed to Iraq in 2005. 

"We all did what we were supposed to do, we did the right thing," Schilling said on Fox News' "Jesse Watters Primetime" Wednesday. "It's dishonorable what he did. He left somebody else up to take over his spot. He just ditched us." 

"It would be a disaster if he ever got to be the commander-in-chief," Schilling said of Walz, who was tapped this week as Kamala Harris' running mate.

Walz is described as a retired "command sergeant major" in his governor's website biography and has also claimed he carried a gun "in war," despite never experiencing active combat. Walz retired from the Minnesota National Guard before he would have been deployed to Iraq in 2005.

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Tom Schilling, a veteran who served in the same battalion as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, said that Walz "ditched" him and other soldiers before they were deployed to Iraq in 2005.  (Fox News)

The Minnesota National Guard told Fox News that Walz's unit was not given deployment orders to Iraq until July and he had put his retirement papers in five to seven months prior to his retirement in May 2005.

"He probably knew he wasn't a good leader and he wanted to do something else, and we did get a really good leader with Command Sgt. Behrends," Schilling said.

Ret. Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Behrends, who also served with Walz, has also spoken out publicly against Walz's description of his military career. 

"He's used the rank that he never achieved in order to advance his political career," Behrends said of Walz on Fox News. "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."

Army Lt. Col. Ryan Rossman, Minnesota National Guard’s Director of Operations, detailed Walz's service in a statement to Fox News: "He held multiple positions within field artillery such as firing battery chief, operations sergeant, first sergeant, and culminated his career serving as the command sergeant major for the battalion. He retired as a master sergeant in 2005 for benefit purposes because he did not complete additional coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy."

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The campaign previously issued a statement on the controversy surrounding Walz's military career: "After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he chaired Veterans Affairs and was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform — and as our Vice President of the United States, he will continue to be a relentless champion for our veterans and military families." Walz served as the ranking member on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, not the chair. (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via Getty Images)

"When I see the leadership that Walz offered to Minnesota," Schillling said, recalling Walz' policies during the 2020 riots and COVID, "I'm thankful he didn't come over there, or we'd have brought back a lot more body bags. Tom Behrends, he saved a lot of lives for us by being a good leader." 

When asked about claims that Walz reportedly made about carrying a weapon during war, Schilling responded that it was "stolen valor." 

"There you go with the stolen valor again," he said. "It's what he made up to advance himself in a political world." 

The Harris-Walz campaign previously issued a statement on the controversy surrounding Walz's military career: "After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he chaired Veterans Affairs and was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform — and as our Vice President of the United States, he will continue to be a relentless champion for our veterans and military families." 

Walz served as the ranking member on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, not the chair.

Walz was deployed to Italy with the Minnesota National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery on Aug. 3, 2003, to support Operation Enduring Freedom. Walz was stationed at Vicenza, Italy, during his deployment and returned to Minnesota in April 2004.

The campaign did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment. 

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Fox News' Yael Halon and Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.