Tim Walz military record called into question as he's accused of ducking Iraq war

It comes after a promotional video which shares his support for gun control legislation within the context of his army background.

Walz says in the video: "I spent 25 years in the Army and I hunt. I’ve been voting for common sense legislation that protects the Second Amendment, but we can do background checks.

"We can research the impacts of gun violence. We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war, are only carried in war."

Following the release of the clip, critics have hit back claiming that he retired before a deployment to Iraq.

Walz would have carried a gun during his deployments, but he does not appear to have ever seen active combat.

His use of the term "in war" has struck an angry backlash with other service members who have accused Walz of "abandoning" his US Army National Guard unit.

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Walz retired before it deployed to Iraq in 2005 after a 25-year career in the army.

"The big frustration was that he let his troops down," Doug Julin, a retired soldier who worked with Walz, told the Washington Post.

The Harris campaign refused to comment on why he claimed to have carried weapons in war, but said he carried, fired and trained others on how to use "weapons of war innumerable times".

Retired Command Sergeant Major Thomas Behrends slammed Walz by suggesting that he was fabricating his army record to help his "political career".

He also shared his frustration with Walz describing himself as a command sergeant major during campaign promotion despite quitting before serving the full period required to officially retire at the rank.

Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance said: "When the US Marine Corps asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it.

"When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, he dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him. I think that’s shameful."

There is no evidence that Walz left to avoid a wartime deployment, with his battalion being alerted about deployment in July 2005 - two months after he retired, according to National Guard records.

Another retired command sergeant major who served with Walz also said there was no certainty that the unit would be deployed to Iraq before his retirement.