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SPEAKER: About half of Minnesota's governors wore a military uniform prior to winning office. If DFLer Tim Walz defeats Republican Jeff Johnson in November, he would be the 20th veteran elected governor, and the first since 1998.

Brian Bakst has a look at Walz's military service and how it has shaped him.

BRIAN BAKST: Two days after Tim Walz turned 17, he and a military recruiter drove to a farm field in Northern Nebraska. They were there to see a farmer who was also a lieutenant in the Army National Guard.

The man hopped down from his tractor.

TIM WALZ: And we did the oath of enlistment right there, on the edge of a field.

BRIAN BAKST: Not long after, Walz was off to basic training in Georgia. It was the first stop in a military career that would take him to Arkansas, Texas, the Arctic Circle, and several outposts in between.

TIM WALZ: You go where you're told to go.

BRIAN BAKST: He was part of Minnesota's National Guard when he retired as a high ranking sergeant in 2005. Around the same time, he began his first campaign for Congress. In his campaign to be governor, and, by default, guard commander-in-chief, Walz has touched briefly on his military days.

He was involved in fighting floods, responded to tornadoes, and spent time deployed overseas. He specialized in heavy artillery like howitzers and won ribbons for sharpshooting, but Walz never saw combat.

TIM WALZ: I know that there are certainly folks that did far more than I did. And I know that. And I willingly say, I got far more out of the military than they got out of me, from GI Bill to leadership opportunities to everything else.

BRIAN BAKST: Neither Walz nor his campaign lined up former military colleagues to speak on his behalf, saying anyone who comes forward does so on their own. MPR News, located some independently.

JEFF BERTRANG: We were in the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery, headquartered out of New Ulm, Minnesota.

BRIAN BAKST: Jeff Bertrang outranked Walz in the unit and retired as a brigadier general. Bertrang is now superintendent of the New Ulm schools. And says, he has kept only loose contact with Walz. But he has fond memories of the sergeant.

JEFF BERTRANG: His willingness to learn and to inspire others. He had a go-get-him attitude. It wasn't sit back and wait to see what happens.

BRIAN BAKST: They were stationed together in Norway doing drills in 30 below zero temperatures, where guard troops trained with NATO allies. Bertrang says, Walz was good at putting colleagues at ease and demonstrated an appreciation for varying viewpoints and differing backgrounds, all of which naturally transfer to politics.

JEFF BERTRANG: You have to understand how to get along, how to work together, how it's not always one way or the highway, come to a mutual understanding. And having that type of capability and experience goes a long way in leading whatever organization is going to be.

BRIAN BAKST: Al Bonnifield served in the 125th under Walz, as did his brother. Bonnifield vividly recalls the first time he saw his new first sergeant upon returning from annual training.

AL BONNIFIELD: He was down at the motor pool, barking orders at everyone.

BRIAN BAKST: Bonnifield says, he and his mates weren't sure what to make of him.

AL BONNIFIELD: They all looked at him funny, like, who's this guy? But after a while, we all got to know him and respected him very much.

BRIAN BAKST: He came to know Walz as a guy who would play practical jokes on fellow soldiers, and who would chat up anyone, regardless of differences in rank. The unit deployed in 2003 to Italy for a support mission connected to Operation Enduring Freedom. They returned to Minnesota eight months later.

Before long, Walz was thinking about military retirement and a run for office, but Bonnifield says, the unit's likely deployment to Iraq weighed on him.

AL BONNIFIELD: With the common soldier saying, hey, he didn't go with us. He's trying to skip out on a deployment. And he wasn't. He talked with us for quite a while on that subject. He weighed that decision to run for Congress very, very heavy. He loved the military. He loved the guard. He loved his soldiers that he worked with.

BRIAN BAKST: Walz says, it was time to leave. And he saw a chance to make a difference in the public policy arena.

TIM WALZ: Of my 40 years or 41 years, I had been in the military, 24 of them. It's just what you did. And so that transition period was a challenge.

BRIAN BAKST: Bonnifield and his brother went to Iraq in different units, and both dealt with severe mental health issues upon their return.

AL BONNIFIELD: What he called two fine soldiers and almost losing them, he took it personal.

BRIAN BAKST: Bonnifield says, Walz, the Congressman, worked to connect struggling guard members with help and sought to cut red tape. Bonnifield lives in North Dakota, but is exploring a move back home to Minnesota. He says, the chance to vote in November for his former sergeant could speed things up.

Covering politics, I'm Brian Bakst at the Capitol.