Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) has come under fire from vice presidential candidate JD Vance over allegations that he abandoned his National Guard battalion before their deployment to Iraq. Vance, a former Marine who served in Iraq, criticized Walz’s decision to retire from the Army National Guard in 2005, four years into a six-year reenlistment.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Vance condemned Walz’s actions. “Your job as a senior enlisted guy in a unit is to keep your people safe. That’s not a job you can switch out of on a moment’s notice. If he abandoned his troops before they went to Iraq or wherever, it’s absolutely shameful,” Vance said.

The controversy stems from reports that Walz retired just as his battalion was preparing for deployment. A campaign video featuring Walz has further fueled the debate, with Walz claiming, “Look, you should not be able to carry the weapons that I carried in war.” This statement prompted Vance to question Walz’s combat experience.

“There was a clip the Kamala campaign posted about him where he’s making a gun control argument. He said, ‘Look, you should not be able to carry the weapons that I carried in war.’ And I’m thinking to myself, well, when did you go to war? What weapon did you carry in the war, Tim, because apparently you skipped out on your unit before they went to Iraq,” Vance added.

Walz has acknowledged that he never saw combat during his 24 years in the Army National Guard. His deployments included Italy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and NATO training exercises in Norway. Despite these assignments, retired Command Sergeants Major Thomas Behrends and Paul Herr accused Walz of embellishing his military career.

In a letter published in 2018, Behrends and Herr claimed that Walz reenlisted for six years in 2001 and was promoted to Command Sergeant Major in 2004. However, when the battalion received orders to prepare for deployment, Walz retired, leaving his unit without its senior Non-Commissioned Officer.

The scrutiny over Walz’s military service has added pressure to the Harris-Walz ticket as the 2024 election approaches. Vance’s comments have intensified the focus on Walz’s record, raising questions about his leadership and commitment to duty.