During his interview with CNN, former Minnesota National Guard Command Sgt. Maj. Doug Julin appeared to bolster criticism that Walz abandoned the unit with his account of the former Guardsman going around him to leave the National Guard before his team went to Iraq.
He relayed to CNN anchor Laura Coates that Walz and the whole unit – “including my boss, commander, and the command team” – had multiple meetings to discuss deployment months before Walz sought retirement.
According to the former sergeant major, Walz was at each of these meetings. Julin also asserted that in the lead up to deployment Walz assured him that he was going to join the battalion in Iraq.
