Some background info on Walz's military rank

[LonePirate]

I am posting this simply because I thought it provided some good background information on Walz's military service.

Link to tweet

Mark Hertling @MarkHertling

Many followers not familiar with the military are asking me “so what’s the big deal about a command sergeant major?”

Walz joined at 18 as a private. Rose through the NCO (sergeant) ranks, each requiring extreme competence at increasingly demanding jobs with more people & responsibility at every rank.

When you reach “Master Sergeant” you are selected to serve as a First Sergeant (1SG) of a unit…if you’re good enough. Then, those 1SGTs compete for selection to Sergeant Major. Only the best Sergeant Majors are selected for Command Sergeant Major (CSM) billets.

CSMs serve as the senior enlisted person in the unit and the advisor to Commanders at battalion and above. Having served with dozens of CSMs as my unit & command “battle buddy” I will attest they were all awesome.

They know what they’re doing. They uphold standards. They speak their minds to all ranks (private to generals). They’re not afraid of getting bad news because they know how to fix things when they go wrong. And they serve the command (their commander and their soldiers) with a selfless integrity and a complete dedication.

During social events and informal occasions, they’re usually a whole bunch of fun. And they always have great stories. But they’re always professional.

So, those are my thoughts on Command Sergeants Major. While I don’t know the details of @GovTimWalz career wearing the cloth of our country, just the fact that he volunteered to serve and wore the CSM rank tells me a lot about him.