Walz's military record under scrutiny as Vance, GOP question his service

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's military record has come under scrutiny since he was named as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket, Republicans are questioning both Walz's characterization of his time in uniform and his departure from service.

Here's a look at Walz's record and how it's become a campaign issue:

Army National Guard service

Walz served a total of 24 years in various branches of the Army National Guard before retiring in 2005. It's the circumstances of that retirement that Republicans have criticized in the presidential campaign.

According to the Nebraska Army National Guard, Walz enlisted in April 1981 — just two days after his 17th birthday — and entered service as an infantryman, completing a 12-week Army infantry basic training course before graduating from high school.

While attending the University of Houston in 1985, he was reclassified as a field artillery cannoneer as a member of the Texas Army National Guard, later serving as an instructor with the Arkansas Army National Guard.

In 1987, Walz returned to Nebraska's Guard detachment, continuing field artillery assignments while he completed a college degree. By 1996, he transferred to the Minnesota Army National Guard.

As he ramped up for a congressional bid in 2005, Walz’s campaign in March issued a statement saying he still planned to run despite a possible mobilization of Minnesota National Guard soldiers to Iraq. According to the Guard, Walz retired from service in May of that year.

In August 2005, the Department of the Army issued a mobilization order for Walz's unit. The unit mobilized in October of that year before it deployed to Iraq in March 2006.

Despite his having retired several months before