…“As far as I’m concerned, he made the right decision in retiring and going to Congress,” Bonnifield said. “At the time he retired, we hadn’t gotten alert notice. We had no notice other than ‘this could happen.’ It could have, may not have. So when he made the decision, there were a lot of other people that did at the same time, and why everyone was picking on him for retiring, I don’t know.” …The politicization of Walz’s service is equally disturbing, he said. “What we’re hearing from our members is, most people don’t care about what you did in the service, or what your exact job was, or where you got stationed, or anything like that,” Thomas said. “We care that you served, that you raised your right hand and that you did what was asked of you, and it’s clear from Walz’s record that that’s exactly what he did.”…“When a service member reaches 20 years of service, they can submit a request to retire even if there is time remaining on their enlisted contractual agreement,” said Army Col Scott Rohweder, Minnesota national guard’s joint chief of staff. ‘Their request is reviewed and must be approved by leadership.”

“If you do 20 years and a day and you reach retirement eligibility, you have done much more than many,” Lavigne said. “There’s absolutely no shame in the game in dropping your papers and walking and moving on with your life after 20 years of service. Twenty-four years of service is beyond the pale. The argument that comes from the people who are attacking him right now is disingenuous at best, absolutely dishonest at worst.”

Source: Walz attacked by Trump but military record shows honorable service | Tim Walz | The Guardian