My knowledge is a bit out of date since I left the army in 2006.

It bothers me that there is a common thread that could be viewed as semantics at best and outright deception at worst about Governor Walz’s rank as Command Sergeant Major (CSM) in the Army. His rank has been described as one of the highest ranks. In fact, it is The highest enlisted rank.

The Army’s ranks are different from pay grades. Enlisted ranks start at the E-1 pay grade – the rank of private – and end at the E-9 pay grade – the rank of CSM or sergeant major (SGM). This is the highest pay grade for enlisted personnel; there is no “E-10.”

CSMs are selected by a central promotion board that bases the selection of appropriate E-8s (ranking Master Sergeant or First Sergeant) based on open or outstanding vacancies in a limited number of CSM assignments. The “Command” in the rank denotes exclusivity, as each unit of a certain size, usually battalion and larger, has a Commander and a CSM.

I also read that then-CSM Walz timed his retirement to avoid deployment, even though his retirement occurred about five months before his unit received deployment orders.

While I suspect he and his unit knew of the possibility of deployment, retirement requests for CSMs must be approved by one or sometimes two levels of command above his/her unit, and can take months to process precisely because the Department of the Army reviews the availability of a qualified replacement for command-level positions before approving.

Also, I don’t think much of Governor Walz retiring at the E-8 pay grade instead of the E-9. I read that he did not complete some of the courses at the Army Sergeants Major Academy (SMA). The SMA offers an annual residential course that lasts nine months and a non-resident course that consists of a correspondence course that can last two years followed by a six-week residential course that is also only offered once a year.

Reserve and National Guard soldiers typically attend the in-person course due to the part-time nature of their service, and their civilian activities can easily make it difficult to complete the distance learning portion of the course and schedule and attend the in-person course.

The idea that retiring one rank lower than the highest one achieved during the service is somehow a punishment—perhaps equivalent to a dishonorable discharge—is absurd. I don’t know, but I suspect that many more active duty general officers (O-7 pay grade) retire as colonels (O-6 pay grade) for not completing the required length of service in that rank or position than CSMs or SGMs retire as E-8s. After all, there are fewer CSMs in the Army than there are generals. Retiring from military service is still honorable.