Tim Walz is currently a Minnesota Governor and a running mate of Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. He was a member of the Army National Guard for an extended period. Walz joined the Nebraska Army National Guard in 1981 at the age of 17 and spent 24 years before retiring in 2005.
Early career and deployments
Walz’s military career began as an infantryman in the Nebraska Army National Guard. Afterward, he transferred to artillery and moved through successive leadership positions. In support of the European Security Force, operating in Afghanistan, Walz was deployed to Italy in 2003 while he was in the National Guard.
Attaining the rank of command sergeant major
He further served rank in the National Guard, reaching as high as command sergeant major. Walz served briefly as the senior enlisted advisor for the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery Regiment before he retired. As he had not finished the training required for promotion to the rank of sergeant major, Walz formally retired at the rank of master sergeant.
Accolades and awards
During his military career, Walz has been awarded numerous times with honors and decorations, including an Army Commendation Medal and two Army Achievement Medals. In 1989, he was awarded Nebraska Citizen-Soldier of the Year. Walz also performed various disaster response duties for the state of Nebraska and Minnesota while serving in the National Guard.
His political career
Walz entered politics after retirement from the National Guard in 2005. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006, thereby becoming the highest-ranking retired enlisted soldier to serve in Congress. While serving in Congress, Walz has sat on both the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, becoming the top Democrat on the latter committee in 2017.
For Tim Walz, his service in the Army National Guard has been a large part of his life and a big influencer of both his political philosophy and his actions for over two decades. Walz, as Kamala Harris’s running mate, brings diverse experience to the Democratic ticket by having spent years serving in the enlisted ranks and rising to command sergeant major. His time in the military and his championing of issues important to veterans in Congress have won him praise from veterans organizations, which could help him attract voters of all stripes.
