There seems to have been new developments in the situation involving Kamala Harris’s running mate choice, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. We initially learned that he was a high school teacher and a veteran, elected to Congress as the “senior enlisted.” However, the narrative around his military service began to falter.

His reputation was questioned after two of his former peers disclosed some details about his service. There was even a video of Walz claiming to be a combat veteran. Still, the focal point here isn’t whether Walz is a combat veteran or not and how the heck did he get out of his contract. Recently, there’s been a whirlwind of activity around Walz’s military history. Consequently, the Harris-Walz campaign had to retract some of his claims. The Harris team has been occupied with subtly amending Walz’s campaign bio.

In contrast, JD Vance’s service is praised across political lines. His former Marines held him in high regard, and they still do. His former battalion commander even addressed the disparaging comment about him not being a “real combat veteran.”

Sadly, the same cannot be said for Walz. His military record was scrutinized after his two peers revealed his self-serving behavior. The testimony from his former superior was so damning that the segment was abruptly concluded.

Adding more intrigue to this story, Walz’s battalion chaplain has shared his views.

Folks, when Chaplin throws you under the bus, it’s bad.

Corey Bjertness, the chaplain for 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery, was quite candid when asked about Walz’s retirement. He labeled it as cowardly, especially for a senior enlisted person.

Bjertness said, “In our world, to drop out after a WARNORD [warning order] is issued is cowardly, especially for a senior enlisted guy.”

For those who don’t know, there is a difference between a command sergeant major (CSM) and a sergeant major (SGM). When a senior enlisted member is selected for promotion, they pick what they want to be before going to Sergeant Major school (which is two years). CSMs lead troops, and SGMs take more of a staff role. So, that means Walz chose to be in a troop leadership role (which also means he screwed somebody out of a command position). Also, part of becoming a CSM requires an obligation for that person to stay another two years after finishing school, which means Walz should left service in 2007.

In 2004, Walz discovered his battalion was headed to Iraq. As late as March 2005, he and his campaign claimed he was deploying with his battalion. However, in May, somehow he got out of his contract. This information was released by the brigade sergeant major, who said Walz bypassed his entire chain of command and used some connections.

By the way, if a soldier doesn’t meet the requirements to be promoted to CSM (or SGM) they go back to their rank of Master Sergeant. That wasn’t corrected until later and when Walz was giving out his challenge coin during his time in Congress (coin you hand out for doing a good job) it has the CSM insignia.

Here’s a funny but well-done video explaining this in more detail:

So not only is there controversy about Walz getting out of a deployment there seems to be some mystery surrounding his contract that nobody has discussed.

Perhaps we should hear from the families of those in Walz’s battalion who were lost while he was at home. Three casualties occurred during the deployment he missed, including Kyle Miller, 19, and David Berry, 37.