by Liz Collin and Jenna Gloeb
It was September 1995, and Tim Walz’s Nebraska National Guard unit, the 1-168th Field Artillery, upgraded to the M109A5 self-propelled howitzer. One of its capabilities was firing nuclear artillery shells.
Critical SOP manual for nuclear artillery allegedly disappears
Alpha News has learned from a former National Guard colleague of Walz that, during that time, a classified document allegedly went missing—the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) manual detailing the howitzer’s nuclear capabilities.
The retired Nebraska National Guard soldier, who worked with Walz for three years, recounted the disappearance in a phone interview with Alpha News. Fearing retaliation, he wishes to remain anonymous but is willing to cooperate with the FBI.
According to the retired soldier, Walz had just returned from another trip to China around the time when the manual went missing. He alleges Walz was one of the few with access to the building where the top-secret manual was stored and was “often the only one there.” The former battalion member said he believes Walz stole the nuclear SOP manual and later returned it.
Alpha News asked why the missing manual was never reported. The former battalion member explained there was frustration at the time within the unit over Walz “double-dipping,” as he was holding a full-time teaching job while also being expected to serve full time with the unit. He claims that Walz frequently neglected key duties, such as recruitment and payroll, which allegedly raised concerns to the point that a superior had to investigate. The former soldier stated that the unit was more focused on those issues, and when the manual eventually reappeared, it went unreported. In hindsight, the soldier believes he should have reported it when it first went missing but feared repercussions for not addressing it sooner.
Alpha News contacted Walz’s team regarding the missing classified military documents but did not receive a response.
Walz’s arrest and erratic behavior coincide with the manual’s alleged disappearance
In 1995, transferring information, especially before the advent of high-speed internet and large data storage devices, would have required in-person exchanges.
According to Walz’s former National Guard colleague, around the time the nuclear SOP manual went missing, Walz was pulled over by a Nebraska state trooper for driving 96 mph in a 55-mph zone. The officer noted a strong odor of alcohol, and Walz failed both field sobriety and breath tests. He was booked into the county jail and his lawyer later stated Walz believed someone was chasing him.
Why would a National Guardsman, with no history of alcohol abuse, be speeding down a Nebraska highway late at night, smelling of alcohol, and convinced someone was after him?
That question remains unanswered, but it was in the mid-’90s that China began developing its own version of the howitzer—the PLZ-05.
Military sources told Alpha News the two tanks share striking similarities, including a longer barrel with a wider firing range and digital fire control.
By 1996, Walz had relocated to Mankato, Minn., where he joined the artillery firing battery in St. James. Ironically, that same year, the St. James unit took over the upgraded howitzer, following a transition from Walz’s former unit in Nebraska, according to a 1996 field artillery annual report (page 40).
Alpha News reached out to the Nebraska National Guard with questions regarding missing classified documents, Walz’s frequent trips to China, similarities between the M109A5 howitzer and China’s PLZ-05, and whether Walz was ever under investigation during his service in Nebraska. As of publication, no response has been received. Alpha News also reached out to the Minnesota National Guard with similar questions and did not receive a response.
FBI pressed for documents on Walz’s ties to Chinese Communist Party
Walz served 24 years in the National Guard, first with Nebraska and then with Minnesota. Walz joined the Guard in 1981 and retired in 2005, during which time he made multiple trips to China. Now a two-term Minnesota governor and Democratic vice-presidential nominee, Walz’s China ties are under new scrutiny.
Last month, Congressman James Comer, chair of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, requested FBI documents concerning “Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-connected entities and officials Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has engaged and partnered with.” So far, the FBI has not responded.
“The FBI’s silence regarding Mr. Walz’s documented relations with CCP affiliates is inexcusable,” Comer said, giving the FBI until Sept. 19 to respond.
Multiple public figures have begun to express their concerns, including Sen. Marco Rubio, who recently accused Walz of being a Chinese asset, calling him “an example of how Beijing patiently grooms future American leaders.”
University of Houston and the Chinese Consulate
Walz transferred to the Texas National Guard in 1985 to attend the University of Houston, three years after graduating from Butte High School.
According to the Star-Herald, Walz claimed to have taken East Asian studies classes at the University of Houston, though some records show it did not offer Chinese or any other East Asian language courses at the time. However, universities closer to Walz’s hometown did. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska-Omaha offered Chinese language classes and more robust East Asian studies programs.
Why Walz chose the University of Houston is unknown, but the city had something those other universities did not—a Chinese consulate.
That same consulate would eventually be closed in 2020 under the Trump administration amid allegations of espionage. Then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the consulate a “hub for spying and intellectual property theft,” stating that its closure was necessary to protect American interests.
Frequent China visits raise concerns
Walz graduated from Chadron State College in 1989 and made his first trip to China that year, teaching at a high school through WorldTeach, a nonprofit founded by Harvard University students.
Walz was already overseas, preparing for his first year teaching, when the Tiananmen Square massacre occurred in June 1989.
In response to the massacre, the U.S. imposed an arms embargo against China, and China retaliated by suspending certain U.S. teachers from working in the country. However, Walz remained in China to teach.
During the 1980s, U.S. officials acknowledged that 60-70% of China’s efforts to build ties with the West were focused on acquiring military technology.
However, Walz, a National Guardsman specializing in artillery, traveled to and from China during this period even though China had a vested interest in acquiring military technology.
After the Tiananmen Square massacre, Walz took a train to Beijing to visit the site, according to The New York Times. Upon returning to the United States, he told local newspapers how much he enjoyed his time in China, apparently so much so that on June 4, 1994—the fifth anniversary of the massacre—he and Gwen Whipple got married. Gwen later told a local newspaper that Walz “wanted to have a date he’ll always remember.” The couple spent their honeymoon in China.
Walz’s travel company and growing ties to China
After this first trip, Walz founded a company that took students on summer trips to China. In a 2016 interview, Walz said he traveled to China “about 30 times” as a teacher and congressman. The New York Post reported that Walz was a visiting fellow at a state-run university in China as recently as 2007.
A former student who traveled with Walz in 1995 shared his experiences with Alpha News. The student, who requested to go by just his first name, Shad, said Walz displayed a strong admiration for China’s communist regime during their trip.
“It was almost a daily revelation of how much he adores the communist regime,” Shad said. “We’d be buying souvenirs, and Tim was always buying the little red book … said he gave them as gifts … I saw him buy at least a dozen on the trip,” stated Shad. “It would be like in Germany and buying copies of Mein Kampf.”
Shad also pointed out similarities between Walz’s messaging and Maoist propaganda, including slogans like “the politics of joy” and “unburdened by what has been” and more recently “turn the page.”
“He’s a Maoist to the core and should not be underestimated,” said Shad. “The snitch hotline in Minnesota is straight out of CCP. Tim Walz is a very bright guy. None of this by accident,” Shad stated. “I’ve been trying to tell people this for 30 years. Nobody wanted to listen.”
Allen Shen raises concerns about Maoist ideology and China trips
Allen Shen, an Army veteran and former Minnesota House candidate who was born in communist China, has voiced similar concerns to Shad’s regarding Walz. Shen draws a parallel between the 2020 toppling of the Christopher Columbus statue in Minnesota and Mao’s destruction of Chinese temples during the Cultural Revolution.
“Everything about Walz warrants further investigation,” Shen said. “We need to examine his connections with China, understand why he was taking children to China annually, and scrutinize his military service during that period. This situation requires another look.”
When asked by Alpha News if Walz might have been a target of interest to the Chinese, Shen responded, “It’s possible. Walz once remarked that he would never be treated so well again after his visits to China. Why was he treated so well?”
Shen also questioned how Walz managed to make frequent trips to China while serving in the National Guard. “When I was in the Guard, I couldn’t be away for an extended period without returning for drills. How was he allowed to be absent so often?” Shen asked.
He believes that Walz’s frequent absences from Guard duties, combined with his pro-China stance, indicate an unusual level of leniency from military authorities.
Alpha News reached out to Walz’s camp multiple times, asking about his service records in the Minnesota and Nebraska National Guards, his frequent travel to China during his time in the Guard, allegations of missing classified documents, his choice to attend the University of Houston, and whether any investigations or disciplinary actions followed his 1995 DUI arrest in Nebraska. Despite repeated inquiries, including several in recent weeks, we did not receive a response.
While Walz’s staff did not address our specific questions, when his connections to China surfaced last month, his camp told the media: “Throughout his career, Governor Walz has stood up to the CCP, fought for human rights rights and democracy, and always put American jobs and manufacturing first. Republicans are twisting basic facts and desperately lying to distract from the Trump-Vance agenda: praising dictators, and sending American jobs to China. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will ensure we win the competition with China, and will always stand up for our values and interests in the face of China’s threats.”
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Liz Collin has been a truth-teller for 20 years as a multi-Emmy-Award-winning reporter and anchor. Liz is a Worthington, Minnesota native who lives in the suburbs with her husband, son and loyal lab. Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
Photo “Tim Walz” by Alpha News.
