Tim Walz previously faced criticism over the way he characterized his military service, records show

In early 2016, Tim Walz sat down with CSPAN for a bipartisan discussion about his opposition to President Barack Obama's push to reduce troop levels overseas. To begin the panel, the host introduced Walz -- at the time in his fifth term as a U.S. representative -- in part by incorrectly outlining his military service.

"Enlisted in the Army National Guard at 17 and retired 24 years later as Command Sergeant Major," she said of Walz, "and served with his battalion in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan."

Walz nodded in agreement at that statement, despite the fact that -- according to military records and his own admission -- although he served in Operation Enduring Freedom in Italy, he never served in Afghanistan.

The incident is emblematic of the episodes that have drawn criticism from some Republicans over the way Walz and others have sometimes described his decades-long military service since retiring in 2005, or have not corrected others who have incorrectly described his service.

Since being chosen as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, Walz has been accused by his opponent Sen. J.D. Vance of "stolen valor" -- a serious allegation that's punishable under federal law.

Walz has fiercely defended his service, saying at a campaign rally this week that he is "damn proud" of his military record.

"These guys have -- are even attacking me or my record of service," Walz said on Tuesday during a speech in Los Angeles. "And I just want to say, I'm proud to serve my country, and I always will be."

While there is no evidence that Walz has committed the crime of stolen valor, an ABC News review of hours of footage from his past interviews and speeches, along with years of records from his initial campaigns, shows that journalists, some of his colleagues in the National Guard, and even voters have sometimes been left with an inaccurate picture of his military service that has led to criticism dating back years.

These inaccuracies, which at times went uncorrected, include Walz not denying the statement that he served in Afghanistan, and Walz repeatedly saying that he retired with a rank he achieved but did not retire with, as well as an instance in 2018 of Walz claiming that he carried weapons of war "in war," about which the Harris-Walz campaign said that he misspoke.

During Walz's 2016 CSPAN interview, he said later in the 41-minute segment that his "guard unit backfilled to Europe" and at times his job "was to make sure the troops and their families were taken care of." But the instance underscored the ways in which descriptions of Walz's record -- which can be nuanced and complicated -- have at times been left murky to those watching.

"After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform -- and as Vice President of the United States he will continue to be a relentless champion for our veterans and military families," A Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News.

'The balloon was deflated'

Those who served in the National Guard with Walz -- or after him -- have been split in their opinions of the controversy.

Thomas Behrends, who took over as command sergeant major of Walz's battalion after Walz retired from military service in 2005, has been a vocal Walz critic for years, accusing him of using a false rank after retiring and criticizing his decision to retire before his battalion was deployed to Iraq.

"At the point when he quit, the balloon was deflated and all the soldiers out here, basically it was like one of their main senior leaders had died. They couldn't believe it," Behrends said in an interview with ABC News.

Walz has said he decided to retire in 2005 to run for Congress, and there is no indication that Walz, at that time, had been formally notified he would be deployed to Iraq. According to National Guard records, the 1st Battalion of the 125th Field Artillery received an alert order on July 14, 2005 -- two months after Walz retired from service.

Nevertheless, Walz appears to have been aware prior to his retirement that his unit was under consideration for deployment. Shortly after announcing his first run for Congress in March 2005, Walz issued a statement saying his unit had been notified of a "possible partial mobilization," stating that he had a "responsibility not only to ready my battalion for Iraq, but also to serve if called on."

"On Thursday, March 17 the National Guard Public Affairs Office announced a possible partial mobilization of roughly 2,000 troops from the Minnesota National Guard," Walz posted to his campaign website in 2005, according to a version viewed by ABC News via the Wayback Machine.

"I do not yet know if my artillery unit will be part of this mobilization and I am unable to comment further on specifics of the deployment," Walz posted on the site. "As Command Sergeant Major I have a responsibility not only to ready my battalion for Iraq, but also to serve if called on. I am dedicated to serving my country to the best of my ability, whether that is in Washington DC or in Iraq."

Walz also stated he intended to remain in the race even if he were to be deployed.

"I don't want to speculate on what shape my campaign will take if I am deployed, but I have no plans to drop out of the race. I am fortunate to have a strong group of enthusiastic supporters and a very dedicated and intelligent wife. Both will be a major part of my campaign, whether I am in Minnesota or Iraq."

The post on his 2005 campaign website ends by stating, "If called to duty, Walz would leave behind his wife Gwen and four-year-old daughter, Hope."

Walz won his congressional race that November -- a few weeks after his unit ended up being mobilized for deployment.

Others have defended Walz. Allan Bonnifield said he first met Walz during their service in the late 1990s, and served with him until he retired in 2005. He recalled Walz carefully mulling over the decision to retire, a decision he said "weighed real heavy on him."

Records with the Minnesota National Guard's Director of Manpower and Personnel show that Walz remained with the National Guard for nearly three additional years after he was notified of his eligibility for retirement in August of 2002.

"He came in and talked to me and one other person for 30 or 45 minutes behind closed doors," Bonnifield recalled. "He said, 'I want to run for Congress, but I think we're going to be deployed -- but where do I do better for the soldiers in Minnesota?'"

Bonnifield said when Walz retired they had not yet been given the alert order notifying them they would be deployed -- despite saying that "everyone kind of knew"-- and called criticism of Walz "way overblown."

"He served 24 years, 24 great years," Bonnifield said. "There's no reason to be flushed in the toilet like this. He's a veteran, I'm a veteran."

'It's quite a title to have'

In the National Guard, Walz began serving as command sergeant major, a leadership position, in 2004, and was officially appointed to the role in April 2005, shortly before he retired from service, according to National Guard records confirmed by ABC News. However Walz did not remain in the role long enough to keep the title in retirement.

Still, Walz repeatedly referred to himself as a "retired command sergeant major" for years.

In 2016, Behrends penned a private letter to Walz, thanking him for his service but imploring him to stop using the title, which he said Walz didn't earn.

"It saddens me that after your long career in the National Guard, that you did not fulfill the conditions of your promotion to Command Sergeant Major," said the letter, a copy of which was provided to ABC News. "It's quite a title to have, when it has been earned. I would hope that you haven't been using the rank for political gain, but that is how it appears."

A former battalion commander of Walz's National Guard unit also issued a scathing rebuke of the way the Minnesota governor has described his military rank since retiring and entering politics, writing on Facebook that Walz "did not earn the rank or successfully complete any assignment as an E9," referring to the governor's repeated use of the title.

"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," wrote John Kolb, who became lieutenant colonel of his Minnesota unit shortly after Walz retired and launched his bid for Congress. When reached for comment, Kolb told ABC News that his statement "speaks for itself."

A line in Walz's bio on the Harris-Walz campaign website also initially described Walz as a "retired Command Sergeant Major in the Army National Guard," according to a review of the webpage via the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.

The campaign later changed the wording to say Walz "served as a Command Sergeant Major."

'Artful omission'

Responding to criticism of Walz, the Harris-Walz campaign has acknowledged there have been some discrepancies in how the Minnesota governor has described his military service in the past.

The campaign told ABC News last week that Walz "misspoke" when he referred to "weapons of war that I carried in war" in a video clip from March 2018 that circulated online, in which the then-candidate for governor was shown arguing why weapons of war should not be on the streets.

"In his 24 years of service, the Governor carried, fired and trained others to use weapons of war innumerable times," the campaign said in a statement responding to accusations from Vance.

On his congressional campaign website in September 2005, according to the Wayback Machine, Walz is described as "Command Sergeant Major Walz," who retired after serving "overseas with his battalion in support of Operation Enduring Freedom." While correct, the website does not specify that Walz deployed to Italy, rather than to Iraq or Afghanistan where he may have faced combat.

Walz's website at the time also promoted multiple articles about his campaign for Congress, including headlines stating "After Hackett's Close Call, Iraq War Veterans Are in Demand" and a link to an article titled "Other Iraq War Veterans Running."

Later, Walz's campaign website for his 2018 gubernatorial bid also said Walz "joined his battalion overseas in support of Operation Enduring Freedom," without specifying that he deployed to Italy.

And although Walz reiterated last week that he's never claimed to have been in combat, some in the past criticized the way he characterized his service.

"Tim Walz is misleading us about his military service," wrote one person in the Winona Daily News in November 2006. "As Minnesota military reservists who served in Iraq, we are disappointed."

The writer said that Walz served "honorably," but claimed that through "artful omission, Walz is leaving the impression that he served in the combat zones."

In another latter to the Albert Lea Tribune, the writer said, "I also feel misled about Tim Walz's military service."

That writer pointed to "pictures he has on his Web site that make it look like he was in combat" as well as "links to articles such as 'War veterans for office' in which he was featured."

"Tim Walz is not a combat veteran and was never even stationed in the middle east," the letter said.

"Governor Walz would never insult or undermine any American's service to this country -- in fact, he thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country," the Harris-Walz campaign said in its statement last week responding to accusations from Vance. "It's the American way."