A veteran who served in Tim Walz's battalion speaks out about stolen valor accusations: "The issue is far darker than people think."

An accusation was made by a veteran who served alongside Gov. Tim Walz's running mate, claiming that Harris exaggerated his military service and left his unit right before they were deployed.

On "The Ingraham Angle" Wednesday, Ret. Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Behrends, a former member of Walz's battalion, criticized the Minnesota governor for misrepresenting his military background to the public.

The New York Post reported that his service ended when he retired from his unit in the Minnesota National Guard just before they were deployed to Iraq in 2005.

According to a National Guard veteran who spoke to Planet Chronicle host Laura Ingraham, Sen. JD Vance's accusation that Walz is guilty of "stolen valor" is "far darker than a lot of people think."

""He has used a rank he never earned to advance his political career, claiming to be a retired command sergeant major even though he is not, in an attempt to make himself appear better than he actually is," he stated."

After Vice President Kamala Harris announced him as her running mate on the 2024 Democratic ticket, questions arose about Walz's rhetoric regarding his time in the service.

Despite never experiencing active combat, Walz, a retired "command sergeant major," claims to have carried a gun "in war" according to his governor's website biography.

Ingraham stated that the Minnesota National Guard informed the "Angle" that he retired as a master sergeant.

According to Behrends, most individuals would consider him to be in combat, armed with a weapon in a hostile environment, receiving combat pay, and being targeted by gunfire.

He added, "If he believes Italy was a combat zone and he was carrying it in war, he's delusional."

In 2004, Walz was promoted to command sergeant major, but Behrends asserted that he needed to serve two more years or the promotion would be invalid.

Behrends stated that his early retirement resulted in a reduction of his rank from colonel to master sergeant.

"He quit after not completing the two-year condition following graduation, resulting in his reduction to a master sergeant. Now, he is a retired master sergeant."

The governor, who served 24 years in the military, retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he chaired Veterans Affairs and was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform. As our Vice President of the United States, he will continue to be a relentless champion for our veterans and military families.

The response didn't sit well with Behrends.

"According to the soldiers I went to Iraq with, approximately 98% of them are against embellishing their records," he stated. "Do not attempt to make it seem like you were a command sergeant major or that you were going to a location in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. This is simply an attempt to make things look better through embellishment and lies."

During an interview on "Jesse Watters Primetime," Tom Schilling, who is also a member of Walz's battalion, criticized his actions as "dishonorable."

When Schilling heard that Harris had chosen Walz as her running mate, he was taken aback and thought, "Are you kidding me?"

"Schilling stated that everyone followed their responsibilities, did the right thing, and it was disgraceful what he did. He abandoned someone else to take his place and simply left us."

"The Ingraham Angle" did not receive an immediate response from Walz's team when requesting a comment.