Clips Show Gov. Walz Falsely Claiming Service in Afghanistan

Democrat Gov. Tim Walz's stolen valor plot has thickened as C-SPAN clips show how far he allowed misinformation about his military record to go when he was a member of Congress.

In one clip he tells the story of returning from deployment and getting shown the "Horse Whisperer" as treatment for potential post-traumatic stress disorder, while in another he is shown clearly nodding in agreement when a host repeats his military record with a claim "served with his battalion in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan."

Walz now admits he never served in Afghanistan, and has said his battalion was sent to Iraq after he left the service — mistakes Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign are now explaining away with saying he merely "misspoke."

But it was not just confused or garbled words repeated multiple times, but also the nod in agreement with the erroneous claim he served in a war zone, the C-SPAN clips show.

When Walz was read his record on C-SPAN in March 2016, Walz was shown nodding multiple times when he was read his military record.

• "Highest ranking soldier to ever serve in Congress" — he nodded yes.
• "Enlisted in the Army National Guard at 17 and retired 24 years later as command sergeant major and served with his battalion at Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan" — he nodded yes again, albeit with some slight hesitation and moving his lips as if he wanted to respond, but did not.

Also, from a Dec. 12, 2007 hearing a clip was posted on social media and shared by former acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell, showing Walz in a hearing on PTSD telling Gold Star families he served in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

"I can tell you this, as having been one of those that came back, we were in support of OEF but sitting in there with OEF and OEF veterans when we came back, they showed us the 'Horse Whisperer' and told us to be nice when we went home, and that was the extent of it," Walz said during a House Foreign Affairs hearing on veterans and mental health. "That was in 2004."

More clips from C-SPAN shed light on the missteps on his military record, including further detail on how he served in Operation Enduring Freedom while his battalion was in Europe and admits "that same battalion is now in Iraq at this time."

While Walz did serve as a retired sergeant major in the Army, his rank was reduced at his retirement to serve in Congress, since retired in 2005, two months before his unit received alert orders to deploy to Iraq, CNN reported.

Another clip of Walz shows him talking to the American Legion Convention in his home state of Minnesota in 2011, where he joked about the "demotion to Congress."

Walz began his speech there, telling the story about seeing a wounded warrior at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. 

"There was a young man there, coming back from Iraq recovering from his injuries, and they said, 'This is congressman Walz: He's a retired sergeant major in the Army,'" Walz said in his speech. "And this kid never missed a beat and said, 'Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.'

"And I'm thinking to myself: My first thought was this kid's a Marine. He's tough and he's there. But he set me straight.

"I said, 'Why is that?'

"He said, 'I'm sorry you took the demotion to Congress, sergeant major.'"

• Harris Campaign: Walz 'Misspoke' About Military Record
• Retired NCO Behrends to Newsmax: Walz 'Ran Down the Road' From Unit