What did JD Vance, Tim Walz do in the military? What to know about VP candidates' service

The differences between vice presidential candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz will be on full display Tuesday night during their first debate . But the two politicians do have one thing in common: both served in the U.S. military.

Walz and Vance's military histories will likely come up during the debate. Their similarities, though, don't stop at their willingness to serve. Both candidates enlisted as teenagers, used G.I. bills to attend college and neither saw combat.

Here's what to know about each candidate's service, as well as some points of controversy that arose earlier in their campaigns.

JD Vance served in Marine Corps

Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from Middletown High School in 2003. He served as a combat correspondent, or military journalist, for the 2nd Marine Aircraft In Wing. As a correspondent, Vance wrote s and took photos for the public affairs office, as he wrote about in his memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy."

In 2005, Vance was deployed to Iraq for six months and did not see combat. He wrote about the deployment's impact on him, specifically recalling going out with a civil affairs unit to do community outreach in an Iraqi community.

He served the required four years and attained the rank of corporal .

Tim Walz's military service

Walz, Minnesota's Democratic governor and Kamala Harris' pick for VP, enlisted in the Army National Guard in 1981 when he was 17 years old. He retired honorably 24 years later in 2005.

In 2003, his unit was deployed to Italy to support Operation Enduring Freedom, the official name for the U.S. mission in Afghanistan.

What have Republicans said about Tim Walz's military record?

Republicans, including Vance, have accused Walz of mispresenting his service. Those allegations stem from instances where Walz failed to correct others' mislabeling of his service and times when he mislabeled it himself.

Walz served as command sergeant major toward the end of his career. However, he didn't complete the required schooling needed to hold onto the highest-ranking title, and he retired a few ranks lower as a master sergeant .

Yet Walz's 2005 congressional campaign described him as "Command Sergeant Major Walz," ABC News reports . His current page on the Minnesota government website says this, too.

Harris and Walz's campaign website also inaccurately described Walz as a "retired command sergeant major," but it has since been updated to say Walz rose "to the rank of Command Sergeant Major."

In other instances, Walz has failed to correct people who mistakenly said he served in Afghanistan.

After Walz was announced as Vice President Harris' running mate, conservative influencers on X circulated a clip from a 2016 C-Span interview , during which Walz nods when the host says he retired as command sergeant major and served in Afghanistan. Later on in the interview, Walz did say his unit was deployed to Europe.

In a March 2018 clip , first resurfaced by Harris' campaign, Walz referred to "weapons of war that I carried in war" when speaking about the need for gun control. Critics said this mispresented Walz's military service, since he never saw combat. The Harris-Walz campaign told reporters in August that Walz "misspoke."

What did JD Vance say about Tim Walz's military service?

Vance has pointed to these examples while claiming Walz misrepresented his military service. He also criticized the governor's decision to retire and even accused him of "stolen valor," a federal crime .

"I've never criticized what Tim Walz did when he was in the military. I criticized his retirement decision and most importantly I criticized his lying about his own record," Vance told CNN.

Walz retired from the National Guard so he could focus on running for Congress in 2005, two months before his unit received official deployment orders to Iraq. In a statement on his archived congressional campaign website in March, Walz said he still planned to continue his campaign despite a possible deployment. He retired that May, and his unit received official deployment orders in July.

Walz was eligible to retire after he served 20 years. He's said that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks prompted him to extend his time with the National Guard.

Guardsmen serve around 50 days per year on average, not counting missions or extended training, according to Military.com . They juggle this service with civilian careers, as Walz did as a teacher.

Vance faces backlash after criticizing Walz

While the Ohio senator spoke out against Walz's representation of his military service, Vance's critics took jabs at his own record on social media.

"What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage. Do not pretend to be something that you're not," Vance said during a campaign stop in Michigan. "I served in a combat zone. I never said that I saw a firefight myself, but I've always told the truth about my Marine Corps service. That's the difference."

Brianna Keilar, a CNN co-anchor, said Vance was an "imperfect messenger" to critique Walz since he also did not see combat. Vance called Keilar's comments "disgusting" on X. The CNN journalist later said attacks on Vance's service, like Walz's, were "also offensive" and that the former Marine "served honorably."

What has Walz said?

Walz responded to Vance's criticism during a campaign event on Aug. 13.

"I am damn proud of my service to this country and I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person's service record," he said. "To anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I just have a few simple words: Thank you for your service and sacrifice."