This is retired Colonel John Kolb.
Kolb was appointed the commander of the 1st Battalion of the 125th Field Artillery as a member of the Minnesota National Guard on August 1st, 2005.
Three months prior, Tim Walz - the current governor of Minnesota and Kamala Harris's vice presidential pick - had retired from the National Guard, just two months after the battalion received word that it might deploy to Iraq.
Kolb went on to lead the men for two years.
Over the weekend, Kolb posted a scathing rebuke of Walz, not for retiring when he did, but for continuing to incorrectly use the title "Command Sergeant Major" (CSM). The CSM reports directly to the batallion commander, and as one commenter put it,
...the bond between a Lieutenant Colonel battalion commander and his battalion Command Sergeant Major is one of sacred trust (or at least it is supposed to be).
Here is the Facebook post from Kolb:
There's lots of chatter on socials about whether or not Kolb is qualified to criticize Walz, considering that he took command several months after Walz's retirement.
However, the proximity of the two men in service gives Kolb a perspective on Walz's continued misuse of titles and vague language about serving in war that likely puffed him up in the eyes of voters over the last two decades. CSM Thomas Behrends (tagged in Kolb's post and the photo of the fallen soldier above) also has that unique perspective.
Whether or not Walz retired in order to avoid deploying to Iraq is up for debate. That has not been proven. In February 2005, he announced a run for Congress, which he said he would commit to despite any potential deployment. 👇
What is less up for debate is what Kolb drives at - Walz's misuse of titles and achievements in what looks like a personal marketing push. That would very much fit the definition of stolen valor. 👇
Other social posts questioned the legitimacy of Kolb's account, saying they wished there were "some real investigative journalists on conservative 𝕏."
In an attempt to be a "real investigative journalist," I looked up the information on the account in question. It lists the law firm Rink Noonan as his current employer - you can find his bio on their company website here.
Beyond that, the rest of the media, including leftist outlets like The Daily Beast, are reporting on the story:
This does not mean that conservative commentators are great at doing their homework, however.
In the rush to get the news out, many claimed that Kolb was Walz's direct supervisor.
Now the Left can claim misinformation. The majority of Americans, who aren't chronically plugged into the news, will see that in the headlines and shrug off what might have been a major win against the Kamala Harris campaign.
Being precise matters.
We're just an outlet that covers news that's too crazy for satire, but we'll do our best to keep precision at the forefront at all times.
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
