National Guard veterans who served with Tim Walz are calling Megyn Kelly a “coward” and a “military impersonator” for exaggerating his record.

Four veterans who served with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz came out Monday to publicly criticize the portrayal of his service in the National Guard and his decision to retire and run for Congress just before the unit was deployed to Iraq.

Retired Command Sergeant Tom Behrends, retired Brigadier Sergeant Paul Herr, retired Sergeant First Class Tom Schilling, and retired National Guard veteran Rodney Tow appeared on The Megyn Kelly Show to criticize Walz and his exaggeration of his service history in detail.

The group detailed their frustrations with Walz, particularly after he decided to retire shortly after learning the unit would be deployed to Iraq in 2005. All four deployed to Iraq without him.

‘[H]I told me and the other sergeant majors in meetings that you can trust me, I will deploy my unit. His words to my ears and others,” said Mr.

The four veterans spoke about the men in their unit who lost their lives in Iraq, while Walz remained in the United States, using his military service for political gain.

They described his decision to leave the unit as disastrous for military morale.

‘It’s a morale breaker. It is gnawing at the fabric of the military and its ability to carry out its mission. And it’s not only maybe legally wrong, it’s morally indefensible,” Herr said.

Schilling was in Walz’s unit when he left and said he was shocked to hear the news.

“He just stopped and turned his back on us,” she said. “I don’t see how he could do that morally or where you have no integrity whatsoever.”

They also criticize Walz’s decision to describe himself as a “retired lieutenant colonel,” even though he was only a sergeant major when he officially retired. (Although Walz was eventually promoted to command sergeant major, he did not retire as such.)

“He was literally a sergeant major, on paper, conditionally promoted for 14 days,” Herr said.

The group criticized Walz for repeatedly describing himself as a retired lieutenant colonel, despite veterans calling him exaggerating his record.

“If you knew, my blood is boiling right now because Walz has done nothing but lie and feather his own bed his entire career,” Herr said. ‘That’s how I know. I was there.’

They said it was incomprehensible, that it was an innocent mistake and that Walz should have set the record straight and apologized years ago.

The group also condemned him for allowing others to describe him as a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, the military operation in Afghanistan and Iraq’s Iraqi Freedom. Walz was deployed to Italy in 2003 but never served in Afghanistan or Iraq.

“You’re in Italy … when you’re sipping a latte and people are being shot, there’s a big difference,” Mr. said.

Veterans also reported that Walz initially refused to deploy National Guard troops during the George Floyd riots in Minneapolis, describing the force as “19-year-old cooks.”

During his political career, Walz also spoke of “using a weapon of war” in combat, although he was never deployed overseas.

“This guy is a military impersonator … he said it so many times it just makes you sick to hear it,” Behrands said.

Veterans also reported that Walz initially refused to deploy National Guard troops during the George Floyd riots in Minneapolis, describing the force as “19-year-old cooks.”

They described Walz’s description of the troops as an “insult” to the entire state’s National Guard.

When Kelly asked four veterans to raise their hands if they thought Walz would “cut and run,” all four did.

‘Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision, the gentleman said. And Walz has made the wrong decision. He is not brave. I call him a coward because he is. Because he took the easy way out. He chose the path of least resistance.