Green Beret-turned-congressional candidate slams Walz over military title claims

Green Beret-turned-congressional candidate Joe Kent slammed Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz for his claims about his military title.

"I've seen video of him saying, 'I carried weapons like assault rifles in combat,'" Kent said on the Thursday edition of the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show. "I mean, that's very, very specific. And also it's easy to forget how chaotic 2005 Iraq was. But for him, being in a top enlisted position, when his unit gets those orders to say, 'That's it. Now I'm quitting. Now I'm getting out.'  That sends a very bad message to all the subordinates in his unit that looked up to him."

The Minnesota National Guard confirmed Wednesday that Walz was demoted and did not retire as a command sergeant major like he has claimed for years, including in his official gubernatorial biography.

While Walz temporarily held the title of command sergeant major 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," Army Lt. Col. Kristen Augé, the Minnesota National Guard’s State Public Affairs Officer, told Just the News.

Kent is running for Congress in Washington state's third district. 

He said that anyone who served in the military, no matter the position, served honorably, but what Walz did when he left to pursue a political career was disgraceful. 

Former state department official Bobby Charles also criticized Walz on the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show. 

"It's stolen honor," Charles said. "It's a phrase you're hearing out there, but it's a real phrase that we've used for years for a certain type of person. It's a person with no integrity who's willing to indulge deceit in order to advance themselves."