it is a tour of duty

• General Military Questions

How Long Is A Tour Of Duty In The Military?

The U.S. military utilizes a tour of duty system to rotate personnel to various locations, serving different functions as a means of fulfilling missions and allowing service members a broader experience.

This system enables efficiency and organization in terms of each branch of the Armed Forces and its resources — including service members.

All military personnel are eligible for a tour of duty, depending on their unit, position, military occupational specialty, and many other factors.

Here is an explanation of how long a tour of duty is in the military.

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Table of Contents

What Is Considered A Tour Of Duty In The Military?

A military tour of duty (TOD) refers to a period of time in which personnel from one or more of the Armed Forces branches are deployed or stationed outside the U.S., usually overseas.

You may also see a Tour of Duty called a Deployment. They are both orders issued for a specific purpose or mission and both have a defined time period.

This is sometimes confused with a “TDY” — or Temporary Duty orders . Generally, a TDY is a short-term assignment for the purpose of training or performing administrative duties such as audits and inspections. 

A Tour of Duty or Deployment typically means that service members are temporarily relocated from their base to a different region for mission-related activities.

Such regions are generally located in another country and frequently in areas of combat or hostile environments.

Tours of duty set up a method for rotating military personnel so that human resources are not over-stretched in these conditions.

Before a service member is issued with Tour of Duty or Deployment orders, they must complete basic training within their branch.

They must also undergo any additional unit or individual training that is required.

When service members are not assigned to a tour of duty, they perform their jobs and duties at the post or base where they are stationed.

How Long Is A Tour Of Duty?

In the U.S. military, the length of a tour of duty depends on the branch of the Armed Forces, the reason for deployment, location of tour, and mission of the unit.

Each military branch requires different time spent “in the field” which means active training and/or undertaking an active mission.

For example, certain branches such as the Army may face more active combat situations than members of the Navy.

Therefore, the duration of tours of duty vary between the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps.

Different military branches and their sections determine the timing of a tour of duty.

Note that the Department of Defense has policies indicating the maximum length of any assignment based on the location, the mission, and whether the orders include family members.

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A tour of duty in the Army to a combat zone is typically between 6 and 12 months, though in some cases it is extended to 15 months.

Deployment tours are dependent on the needs and demands of the Army.

In general, soldiers are eligible for two weeks of leave, known as “R&R” (rest and relaxation), after six months of deployment in a combat zone.

A tour of duty to a non-combat zone overseas may be 12 to 36 months.

If a soldier is assigned an “accompanied” tour of duty overseas, in which dependents and family members go along as well, the time period can be as long as 36 months.

Soldiers with dependents that serve “unaccompanied” tours overseas, in which family members do not go along, are usually in-country for 12 months.

Single soldiers (with no dependents) that are assigned to places such as Europe or Japan typically spend 36 months in tour duration.

In these cases, many service members request extensions to remain in these assignments. This may or may not be approved.

The Army considers several aspects in determining tour of duty length for overseas service.

These aspects include:

• Readiness of overseas units
• Stability for soldiers and their families in certain locations
• Stability for commanders in reducing the need for training new soldiers

In the Navy, a tour of duty indicates the period of time spent at sea, performing operational duties.

These duties may include:

• Fleet responsibilities
• Service in a foreign country

A naval tour of duty is part of a rotation that may include a six-month tour on a ship at sea and one month for maintenance in home port with time for training and/or exercises.

Then, there is usually a return to tour of duty at sea for another 6 months.

Most overseas tours for members of the U.S. Navy are limited to two or three years.

However, for naval military personnel assigned to Japan, Guam, and some other areas, tour lengths may last as long as four years.

In some cases, sailors that extend their tour of duty by a year may receive preferential consideration for their next location.

This incentive is offered to enhance the strength and stability of naval forces.

Similar to the Army, a typical tour of duty for Air Force personnel is 12 months in a combat zone.

Most enlisted USAF personnel are not normally involved in direct combat operations, however, which means most tours of duty are usually classified as either accompanied or non-accompanied. 

In this case, accompanied tours are usually for 24-36 months and unaccompanied for 12-24. The timespan will vary depending on the location.

For Air Force pilots and other aircrew members (flight engineers, navigators, loadmasters, etc.), the length of a tour of duty is mission-based. 

USAF members directly assigned to aircraft often do take part in combat missions, although they’re far more mobile than Army forces. Therefore, a tour of duty could be 12-24 months flying out of an installation in a contested region.

It could also be only a month or two providing airlift or air-to-air refueling, flying out of a base in a friendly country (such as Germany, Turkey, or Japan).

On the other hand, it could also mean an accompanied PCS to one of these long-established overseas locations for 36 months. 

Marine Corps

Marine Corps service members typically experience tours of duty overseas between 6 and 12 months, depending on the type of mission.

For example, a Unit Deployment Program (UDP) lasts 6 months, reducing the number of unaccompanied tours for individual Marines.

A deployment for a Marine Air-Ground Task Force lasts up to 6 months and is mission-specific to establish overt U.S. military presence in certain areas.

Marines can also be assigned a tour of duty as an Individual Augmentee.

This takes place when a service member with specific skills is sent to join another military operation for up to 12 months.

Units of Marines can also deploy for combat operations.

In these cases, the tour of duty duration is dependent on the military’s needs in engagement with enemy forces.

However, the length is limited by DoD policy, based on the location.

Conus-side, a stateside tour of duty for Marines is generally 36 months or 3 years. 

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Factors That Influence Tour Of Duty Duration

In addition to a service member’s branch, there are other factors that influence how long a military tour of duty may last.

Since many TODs are spent in hazardous and/or unfriendly areas, away from family and comforts of home, the pressure and toll they take on military members can be significant.

This is why the military coordinates rotating of personnel as effectively as possible.

The goal is to avoid exhaustion and other risks involved in constant action and to attempt to preserve mental and physical health.

Individual service members may face longer or more frequent TODs depending on their experience and expertise.

Depending on the roles that military personnel play in the field, as well as the amount of stress and pressure they face, some tours are longer than others.

Other influential factors include:

• Military occupation
• Mission requirements
• Prior service experience
• Type of unit
• Available resources

Additionally, the reasons for deployment and the location are influential factors that affect the duration of a tour of duty.

For example, active combat missions are generally shorter than tours of duty for the purpose of training exercises or peace-keeping missions.

Related Article – How To Switch From Reserves To Active Duty

Different branches of the U.S. military assign various tours of duty of different duration, depending on many factors and circumstances.

When a military tour of duty is concluded, the service member is generally assigned to a regular duty station or post.

In addition, the service member is ineligible for another tour of duty for a certain period of time.

This ineligibility allows for a break, and recovery, from the intense pressure and action faced by military members that are associated with many deployments and overseas tours.

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TOUR OF DUTY – 10 Facts About the 1980s Vietnam War Drama

By the mid-1980s, there had been TV shows set during the Civil War, World War II, and the Korean Conflict, but never the Vietnam War. That all changed with  Tour Of Duty.

Set in 1967–1968, this groundbreaking drama series follows an infantry platoon as they fight the enemy — and each other — in Southeast Asia. Members of the platoon in season one include Capt. Rusty Wallace ( Kevin Conroy ), Sgt. Zeke Anderson ( Terence Knox ), Lt. Myron Goldman ( Stephen Caffrey ), Pvt. Roger Horn ( Joshua Maurer ), Pvt. Doc Matsuda ( Steve Akahoshi ), Cpl. Danny Percell ( Tony Becker ), Pvt. Scott Baker ( Eric Bruskotter ), Sgt. Marvin Johnson ( Stan Foster ), Pvt. Alberto Ruiz ( Ramon Franco ), and Pvt. Marcus Taylor ( Miguel A. Nunez Jr .). Subsequent seasons attracted marquee stars in limited roles.

With its continuing narrative, big name stars, and historically high production values,  Tour of Duty  has many of the qualities of today’s premium dramas. But it struggled to find an audience in a primetime landscape littered with light comedies. Thirty years later, the critically acclaimed series feels more groundbreaking than ever. And you can see for yourself what makes  Tour Of Duty  a unique TV classic every Monday–Thursday late night on getTV! Here are some fascinating facts about this groundbreaking series.

1. It was inspired by  Platoon.

In December of 1986, Oliver Stone’s  Platoon  drew raves from critics and moviegoers with its unflinching depiction of the Vietnam War. More than a decade after the conflict ended, American audiences finally seemed to ready to examine a highly divisive chapter in our history. And when the film won four Oscars — including Best Picture — a TV show dealing with the same period was inevitable.  Tour Of Duty  is not based on  Platoon , but its depiction of an infantry platoon in the same period (1967–68) is clearly inspired by it.

2. The series was produced with military cooperation.

While  Platoon  was made without any official involvement by the Army,  Tour Of Duty  producers New World Television sought the blessing of the Department of Defense. With it came advice, equipment, and the use of the Army’s Schofield Barracks in Hawaii as the production’s home base. But government cooperation came with a catch: veto power. The Army insisted on changes during season one and, though executive producer  Zev Braun  agreed, he made it clear who was running the show. “It is our avowed purpose to show the reality of war,” he told the  Los Angeles Times  in 1987. “We will not accede (to a change) if it is a major part of the story."

3. Changes were made for season two.

After surviving a low-rated but critically acclaimed first season,  Tour Of Duty  was retooled for its second season. The setting was changed to the Tan Son Nhut Air Force Base near Saigon and new cast members were added, including  Kim Delaney  (a future Emmy winner for  NYPD Blue ) as a young reporter on the base. Women were added to the cast, in part, to better compete with  China Beach , a soapy, Vietnam War drama series that debuted on ABC in 1988.

4. It had tough competition.

When  Tour of Duty  premiered in September of 1987, CBS scheduled it on Thursdays at 8pm. Its competition was T he Cosby Show  and  Family Ties , then the two top rated primetime shows on network TV. Fans breathed a sigh of relief when CBS moved the timeslot to Saturday for season three — until they found out it was up against  The Golden Girls  and  Empty Nest .

5. It was filmed on the set of another famous military-themed series.

Along with a change in setting in season two came a change in location. Production moved from Hawaii to Hollywood, specifically to the back lot where the long-running  M*A*S*H  had wrapped production just a few years earlier. That Korean War-set series shared 22 cast and crew members with  Tour of Duty , including  Rosalind Chao ,  Mako , and  Robert Ito .

6. Season two was cut short.

While seasons one and three had standard, full-season episode orders from CBS, season two was cut to just 16 shows. It wasn’t necessarily the fault of low ratings or budget cuts, but rather a strike by the Writer’s Guild of America that endured for 5 months and hobbled primetime television. Thirty years later, it remains the longest strike in WGA history.

7. Big names were added for season three.

For the third season, action moved away from the base and back out to the field, as the platoon was transferred to a Studies and Observation Group unit. Big names were added to the cast to boost the ratings, including  Carl Weathers  ( Rocky ) as Colonel Brewster and  Lee Majors  ( The Six Million Dollar Man ) as Pop Scarlett. Future star  Kyle Chandler  ( Friday Night Lights ) also had a recurring role in season three as Pvt. William Griner. Notable guest stars included  Angela Bassett ,  Ving Rhames , and  David Allan Grier .

8. It was an expensive show to produce.

“We've got a series that we think is like none other,” executive producer Zev Braun told UPI when the series debuted in 1987. Production costs were unusually expensive for a primetime series of the era: $1.25 million per show. The pilot itself had a budget of more than $3 million, with season one costing more than $30 million. While that may not have paid off in the ratings, it did in critical acclaim and awards consideration.  Tour of Duty  was nominated for three Emmys, winning once for the show’s complex and highly realistic sound design.

9. It depicted real events.

Tour Of Duty  frequently depicted actual events that happened during the Vietnam War, including the raid of Son Tay Prison. And the first story arc of season three dealt with the highly emotional topic of missing in action soldiers. “Over 2,300 soldiers Americans classified 'Missing' in the Vietnam War are still unaccounted for,” a title read on the first episode of season three. “Reported live sightings could indicate some are still held prisoner in Southeast Asia.” On the show, the two M.I.A soldiers — Terence Knox as Anderson and Stephen Caffrey as Goldman — were recovered after being held captive in a Viet Cong prison camp.

10. There were  five  soundtrack albums.

Because of the huge popularity of the 1960s pop songs of the era,  Tour of Duty  inspired not one but four soundtrack releases between 1988 and 1989. There was also a fifth compilation release in 1992 after the series had concluded its three-season run.

For more,  visit the getTV schedule .

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Tour of Duty

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It's Vietnam 1967 and veteran sergeant Zeke Anderson leads the young, new recruits of Bravo Company as they confront the terrifying reality of jungle combat..

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Terence knox, sgt. zeke anderson.

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Episode list

Tour of duty.

S1.E1 ∙ Pilot

S1.E2 ∙ Notes from the Underground

S1.e3 ∙ dislocations, s1.e4 ∙ war lover, s1.e5 ∙ sitting ducks, s1.e6 ∙ burn baby, burn, s1.e7 ∙ brothers, fathers, and sons, s1.e8 ∙ the good, the bad, and the dead, s1.e9 ∙ battling baker brothers, s1.e10 ∙ nowhere to run.

S1.E11 ∙ Roadrunner

S1.e12 ∙ pushin' too hard, s1.e13 ∙ uso down, s1.e14 ∙ under siege, s1.e15 ∙ soldiers, s1.e16 ∙ gray-brown odyssey, s1.e17 ∙ blood brothers, s1.e18 ∙ the short timer, s1.e19 ∙ paradise lost, s1.e20 ∙ angel of mercy, s1.e21 ∙ the hill, contribute to this page.

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Season 1 – Tour of Duty

Critics reviews, cast & crew.

Terence Knox

Sgt. Clayton "Zeke" Anderson

Stephen Caffrey

Lt. Myron Goldman

Tony Becker

Cpl. Daniel "Danny" Percell

Miguel A. Núñez Jr.

Pvt. Marcus Taylor

Ramon Franco

Pvt. Alberto Ruiz

Stan Foster

SP4 Marvin Johnson

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Tour of duty — season 1, season info.

Tour of Duty

Tour of Duty was a CBS network drama series created by Steve Duncan and L. Travis Clark.

The show aired from September 24, 1987 to April 28, 1990, lasting for three seasons & 58 episodes. It was produced by Braun Entertainment Group and New World Television.

• 3 Accolades
• 4.1 Season 1
• 4.2 Season 2
• 4.3 Season 3

The series followed an American infantry platoon on a tour of duty during the Vietnam War.

• Stephen Caffrey as Myron Goldman
• Terence Knox as Clayton Ezekiel "Zeke" Anderson
• Kim Delaney as Alex Devlin
• Tony Becker as Daniel "Danny" Percell
• Miguel A. Núñez Jr. as Marcus Taylor
• Ramón Franco as Alberto Ruiz
• Stan Foster as Marvin Johnson

Accolades [ ]

"Tour of Duty" won an Emmy Award in 1988 for "Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series" and was nominated again in 1989 & 1990.

Emmy Award nominations

• 1989: Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series (for "I Wish it Could Rain")
• 1990: Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series (for "And Make Death Proud to Take Us")

Eddie Award nominations

• 1988: Best Edited Episode from a Television Series (for the pilot episode)

Episode lists [ ]

Season 1 [ ].

• Notes from the Underground
• Dislocations
• Sitting Ducks
• Burn, Baby, Burn
• Brothers, Fathers and Sons
• The Good, the Bad and the Dead
• Battling Baker Brothers
• Nowhere to Run
• Pushin' Too Hard
• Under Siege
• Gray-Brown Odyssey
• Blood Brothers
• The Short Timer
• Paradise Lost
• Angel of Mercy

Season 2 [ ]

• Saigon part 1
• Saigon part 2
• For What It's Worth
• Non-Essential Personnel
• Sleeping Dogs
• I Wish It Would Rain
• Popular Forces
• Terms of Enlistment
• Promised Land
• Lonesome Cowboy Blues
• Sins of the Fathers
• Sealed with a Kiss
• Hard Stripe
• The Volunteer

Season 3 [ ]

• The Ties That Bind
• Lonely at the Top
• A Bodyguard of Lies
• A Necessary End
• Thanks for the Memories
• I Am What I Am
• World in Changes
• Green Christmas
• Odd Man Out
• And Make Death Proud to Take Us
• Dead Man Tales
• Road to Long Binh
• Acceptable Losses
• Vietnam Rag
• War is a Contact Sport
• Three Cheers for the Orange, White & Blue
• 1 Betty Kennedy
• 3 Young Sheldon

• Show Spoilers
• Night Vision
• Sticky Header
• Highlight Links

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Tour of Duty

Tour of Duty was an American drama television series on CBS . It ran for three seasons from 1987 to 1990. It was inspired by the Academy Award winning feature film, Platoon , making stories about The Vietnam War acceptable mainstream entertainment.

The show followed an American infantry platoon on a tour of duty during the Vietnam War. The story focused mainly on Bravo company's second platoon under the command of 2nd Lieutenant (later 1st Lieutenant) Myron Goldman (Stephen Caffrey), and Staff Sergeant (later Sergeant First Class) Zeke Anderson (Terence Knox).

The first season opens in 1967 and follows a standard light infantry platoon. In the second season, the troops found themselves relocated to a base near Saigon while conducting the typical "search and destroy" missions. Female characters were also introduced (in hopes of gaining more female viewership and because of the premiere of the ABC Vietnam Army Nurses drama China Beach which was aimed at a more female audience). In the third season, the remaining female character was killed off and the platoon was transferred to a SOG (Studies and Observation Group) unit under the command of Colonel Brewster ( Carl Weathers ), conducting covert operations in Vietnam and in Cambodia, culminating in the fictional version of the raid on Son Tay Prison. The third season was the show's last.

Tour of Duty contains examples of:

• Advertised Extra : Kevin Conroy was a member of the main cast for the first season, but the writers could never figure out how to properly integrate him into the storylines, as his character was a commander who normally stayed on base. Stuck in Hawaii with nothing to do for most of the working week, he set up a small stand on the beach and sold sketch portraits to tourists out of boredom. His character was dramatically killed off before the end of the season.
• Anyone Can Die : The series did not shy away from killing off major characters, often without warning, highlighting the arbitrary and unfair nature of combat.
• Booby Trap : Practically anytime the squad is out on patrol, you can expect one (or more) to make an appearance. Some are averted, some....not so much.
• Horn is introduced as a pacifist and conscientious objector who'd rather play the harmonica than fight what he sees to be an unjust war. His character arc depicts his realizing the necessity of killing to survive in an environment that doesn't care about his philosophical views and his gradual transformation into a stone-cold killer. His final episode shows him suffering a crisis when he realizes what he's become.
• Butt-Monkey : Baker. Lampshaded towards the end of the first season: “I try to do everything right…everything wrong happens to me!”
• Communications Officer : PFC Roger Horn. Due to his pacifist beliefs and refusal to fight (at first), Anderson makes him the RTO so he can be kept close to him and the LT.
• Dies Wide Open : Capt. Wallace
• Finally, the last episodes of the series are all around depressing. Lt. Goldman is completely disillusioned and has stooped to the same tactics he testified against a friend for. Zeke, with nobody to return to, is given another batch of young idiots to watch die. Taylor, now the last of the old squad, is wounded in a firefight. Pop loses his son and is badly wounded. Griner comes home blind. Hockenbury's pacifism costs the life of a comrade and he is stuck in a care center watching wounded men die. Ruiz and Percell both struggle to adjust to life back home, and McKay is grounded from combat flight, has difficulty getting a job, and when he does he can find no joy in flying in a civilian capacity. The series saved its emotional gut punches for last.
• The Dreaded Toilet Duty : One episode features Percell being put on latrine duty as punishment for an infraction. The officer overseeing this delights in making this already horrible task even worse, berating and mocking Percell as he's burning the waste in the drums, and even taking a dump in one of the toilets before Percell's had a chance to put the drum back under the hole. When it's all said and done, Percell walks back into the barracks to get cleaned up and the other soldiers recoil from him due to how bad he smells.
• During the War : During The Vietnam War to be precise.
• Ensign Newbie : 2nd Lt. Goldman is this at the start of the show. He gains experience and maturity quickly over the course of the first season.
• Haven't You Seen X Before? : Private Alberto Ruiz: What's the matter? You niggers never seen a spic before?
• Honor Before Reason : In Gray-Brown Odyssey , Lt. Goldman and a female VC prisoner, whom he holds at gun point after a prior ambush that also leaves him temporarily blind, come across a wounded communist sympathizer and his starving family. After hearing the VC explaining about the plight of the said family of four, Goldman gives them all his rations and is about to move on. The VC, knowing that Goldman does not understand Vietnamese language, not only tells the family that Goldman has just offered them food but also asks the family to mob the blind Goldman and help her escaping. A girl from the family grabs a knife to free the VC...... only to be prevented from going through with it by her wounded father, who thanks Goldman for the food and allows him to leave with the VC still his prisoner.
• Just Plane Wrong : In a "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" moment from the episode "Soldiers", a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter can be seen being towed in the background when Percell, Taylor, and Ruiz are walking to board their plane. The Blackhawk didn't enter into service until 1979 - 12 years after the episode time period was set.
• Randy "Doc" Matsuda was Bravo Company's designated medic during the first season, before becoming a victim of Anyone Can Die .
• Hockenberry becomes the platoon's new medic in the 3rd season, though his pacifist ways and smartass mouth don't make him very many friends at first.
• Of Corpse He's Alive : One of the new guys gets drunk in town and jumps to his death. His comrades initially plant the body in the jungles with the intention of shooting him in order to make it look like the VC killed him. The platoon sergeant, however, finds out, but not before the base is attacked by the enemy. The new guy's corpse startles a VC sapper who fires at the body before being killed. The dead soldier is honored for fighting bravely in the base's defense.
• Rank Up : Myron Goldman goes from 2nd lieutenant to 1st lieutenant between first and second seasons, Staff Sergeant Anderson is promoted to Sergeant 1st Class, and Johnson is promoted to Sergeant, both in season 3.

• The show had an odd tendency of killing off anyone who was 'getting short' (ie: Was about to complete their mandatory one-year Tour and be sent home). Even the main characters weren't always immune to this .
• Played with when one character was only grievously wounded when he found out he was 'getting short'. In a much later episode, we find out that said character later recovered in hospital, re-enlisted, got promoted, and returned to combat...only to be Killed Off for Real this time.
• Sergeant Rock : Staff Sergeant (later Sergeant First Class) Zeke Anderson, especially in the first few episodes when Goldman was more an Ensign Newbie . He is a grizzled veteran who has the respect of all of the men in The Squad .
• Shown Their Work : In the first season, particularly, the show went to great lengths to show accurate weapons, equipment, and tactics as well as creating a fictional yet believable military unit with its own backstory.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps : Anderson rarely wears his uniform shirt when out in the field, preferring to wear his equipment harness over a tank top, so his well-muscled arms are on full display.
• The Squad : The focus of the series is very much on 2nd platoon Bravo Company, complete with nicknames for almost every platoon member.
• Squirrels in My Pants : In the episode "Angel Of Mercy", Baker is suffering from diarrhea and has to go off into the bushes while standing watch to drop his pants. While he does so, a large toad jumps onto his dropped pants. At the same time, he happens to see some Vietcong slipping out of a tunnel to evade the American soldiers. Baker quickly yanks up his pants and Hilarity Ensues .
• Temporary Blindness : In "Brown-Gray Odyssey", Lt. Goldman temporarily loses his sight after his Jeep hits a mine, and the fire extinguisher backfires. He has to be guided by a female VC prisoner he is holding at gunpoint.
• Tokyo Rose : The series briefly featured a Vietnamese equivalent, note  Trịnh Thị Ngọ, better known as Hanoi Hannah with one GI asking another why he listened to that stuff. He replied that the propaganda was annoying, but that the music they played was actually pretty good.
• War Is Hell : Like most series about The Vietnam War made after Platoon , Tour of Duty focuses a lot on the horror of combat.
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• In the season 1 finale “The Hill”, Taylor and the newbie Mitchell take cover from small arms fire. All of a sudden, Mitchell starts screaming, saying a snake bit him. Taylor tries in vain to calm him, but in a matter of seconds Mitchell starts choking and dies. Horn: Dammit...that Pit Viper’s venom kills you faster than the electric chair.
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Where Was Tour of Duty Filmed? Exploring the Filming Locations of the Classic War Series

By Happy Sharer

Exploring the Filming Locations of Tour of Duty

When it premiered in 1987, Tour of Duty marked a major milestone in television history. The series followed the lives of a group of soldiers in the Vietnam War, becoming the first show to focus on the conflict and its aftermath. Since then, it has become a beloved classic, remembered for its gripping storylines and realistic portrayal of the war. But what many fans don’t know is that much of the show was filmed in locations around the world.

Overview of Tour of Duty

Tour of Duty follows a platoon of soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division, based in Cu Chi, Vietnam. Led by Sergeant Zeke Anderson (Terence Knox), the platoon includes a diverse cast of characters, each with their own unique stories and motivations. As the show progresses, viewers get a firsthand look at the horrors of war, as well as the resilience and courage of the soldiers who fought in it.

Where Was Tour of Duty Filmed?

Despite being set in Vietnam, Tour of Duty was actually filmed in several different countries. Much of the show was shot in Hawaii, which served as a stand-in for Vietnam. Other scenes were filmed in Australia, the Philippines, and Thailand. According to producer Zev Braun, the decision to film in multiple countries was driven by budget constraints: “We had to be very economical with our resources. We couldn’t afford to build sets or hire thousands of extras, so we had to be creative with our locations.”

A Look Back at the Sets of Tour of Duty

Although much of Tour of Duty was filmed on location, some scenes were shot on set. For instance, the show’s barracks were built on the grounds of the former Honolulu International Airport. Meanwhile, the officers’ mess hall was constructed on the grounds of the former U.S. Naval Station at Pearl Harbor. Other sets, such as the jungle and river scenes, were filmed in various locations in Hawaii.

On Location: Shooting Tour of Duty

Filming Tour of Duty on location presented its own set of challenges. For one thing, the crew had to contend with the unpredictable weather and terrain of the various shooting sites. They also had to work within the limitations of the local infrastructure, which often made transportation difficult. As Braun explained, “We had to be very resourceful in finding ways to move equipment and people from one location to another.”

Discussing the Production Design

In addition to logistical challenges, the production team also had to find creative ways to bring the show to life. To this end, they worked closely with the art department to create sets that would be both realistic and cost-effective. As production designer Robert Greene recalled, “We had to figure out how to make the sets look like they were in Vietnam without actually having to build them there.”

The Challenges of Filming in Various Locations

The production team also had to take into account the cultural differences between the various countries where they were filming. As Braun explained, “We had to be mindful of the sensitivities of the locals. We had to make sure we weren’t offending anyone or stepping on any toes.” In addition, the crew had to be aware of the political situation in each country, as some governments were less than enthusiastic about the show’s subject matter.

Working With a Limited Budget

Working with a limited budget also posed a challenge for the production team. To keep costs down, the crew had to be resourceful in their use of materials and props. As Greene noted, “We had to make sure everything was as realistic as possible while still staying within our budget.” The crew also had to make sure the sets were easy to construct and deconstruct, as they often had to move between locations quickly.

Behind the Scenes: Tour of Duty Filming

Behind the scenes, Tour of Duty was a labor of love for the cast and crew. Although the show was often grueling, the team was determined to capture the reality of war. As Knox recalled, “We all wanted to make sure we got it right. We wanted to do justice to the men and women who served in Vietnam.”

The Cast and Crew

The cast and crew of Tour of Duty worked hard to bring the show to life. Knox and his co-stars, including Stephen Caffrey, Tony Becker, and Ramon Franco, put in long hours on set, often working late into the night. Meanwhile, the crew had to contend with the rigors of location shooting, often spending weeks away from home.

The Making of Tour of Duty

The making of Tour of Duty was an incredible undertaking. From scouting locations to building sets, the production team had their hands full. According to Braun, “It was a huge undertaking, but it was worth it. We all felt we were doing something special.”

The Legacy of Tour of Duty

Today, Tour of Duty stands as a testament to the power of television. The show has been praised for its realistic portrayal of the Vietnam War, and many consider it to be one of the best shows of its time. As Knox noted, “I think Tour of Duty will always be remembered as a groundbreaking show. It changed the way people think about war and what it means to serve.”

Visiting the Real-Life Locations of Tour of Duty

For diehard fans, visiting the real-life locations of Tour of Duty is a must. Although the show was filmed in multiple countries, some of the most iconic scenes were shot in Hawaii. Fortunately, fans can still visit many of the show’s filming sites, including the barracks at the former Honolulu International Airport and the officers’ mess hall at the former U.S. Naval Station at Pearl Harbor.

Exploring the Filming Sites

Visiting the filming sites of Tour of Duty can be a rewarding experience. Many of the sites are open to the public, allowing fans to get a firsthand look at the show’s iconic sets. Some sites even offer guided tours, giving fans an insider’s perspective on the show’s production.

Tour of Duty on Location

Many of the show’s original locations are still recognizable today. Fans can explore the jungles of Hawaii, which served as a stand-in for Vietnam. They can also visit the beaches of Australia, which were often featured in the show’s beach scenes. And they can travel to the Philippines and Thailand, where some of the show’s most memorable scenes were filmed.

Revisiting the Tour of Duty Filming Sites

Visiting the filming sites of Tour of Duty is a great way to relive the show’s legacy. Fans can revisit their favorite scenes and get a firsthand look at the show’s iconic sets. They can also learn more about the show’s production, as well as the challenges faced by the cast and crew during filming.

Since its premiere in 1987, Tour of Duty has become a beloved classic. The show was filmed in multiple countries, including Hawaii, Australia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Despite the logistical and budgetary challenges, the production team worked hard to bring the show to life. Today, fans can still visit many of the show’s filming sites, allowing them to relive the show’s legacy.

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Hi, I'm Happy Sharer and I love sharing interesting and useful knowledge with others. I have a passion for learning and enjoy explaining complex concepts in a simple way.

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Tour of Duty (TV series)

Tour of Duty is an American military drama television series based on events in the Vietnam War , broadcast on CBS . The series ran for three seasons, from September 24, 1987, to April 28, 1990, for a total of 58 one-hour episodes. The show was created by Steve Duncan and L. Travis Clark and produced by Zev Braun .

The show follows an American infantry platoon on a tour of duty during the Vietnam War. It was the first television series to regularly show Americans in combat in South Vietnam and was one of several similarly themed series to be produced in the wake of the acclaimed Oliver Stone film Platoon (1986).

The series won an Emmy Award in 1988 for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series , and it was nominated again in 1989 and 1990.

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Season 1 [ ].

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• The Volunteer

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• The Ties That Bind
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• A Necessary End
• Thanks for the Memories
• I Am What I Am
• World in Changes
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At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House Kindle Edition

A revealing account of National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster’s turbulent and consequential thirteen months in the Trump White House.

At War with Ourselves is the story of helping a disruptive President drive necessary shifts in U.S. foreign policy at a critical moment in history. McMaster entered an administration beset by conflict and the hyper partisanship of American politics. With the candor of a soldier and the perspective of a historian, McMaster rises above the fray to lay bare the good, the bad, and the ugly of Trump’s presidency and give readers insight into what a second Trump term would look like.

While all administrations are subject to backstabbing and infighting, some of Trump’s more unscrupulous political advisors were determined to undermine McMaster and others to advance their narrow agendas. McMaster writes candidly about Cabinet officials who, deeply disturbed by Trump’s language and behavior, prioritized controlling the President over collaborating to provide the President with options.

McMaster offers a frank and fresh assessment of the achievements and failures of his tenure as National Security Advisor and the challenging task of maintaining one’s bearings and focus on the mission in a hectic and malicious environment.

Determined to transcend the war within the administration and focus on national security priorities, McMaster forged coalitions in Washington and internationally to help Trump advance U.S. interests. Trump’s character and personality helped him make tough decisions, but sometimes prevented him from sticking to them. McMaster adroitly assesses the record of Trump’s presidency in comparison to the Obama and Biden administrations.

With the 2024 election on the horizon, At War with Ourselves highlights the crucial importance of competence in foreign policy, and makes plain the need for leaders who possess the character and intellect to guide the United States in a tumultuous world.

• Print length 348 pages
• Language English
• Sticky notes On Kindle Scribe
• Publisher Harper
• Publication date August 27, 2024
• File size 24832 KB
• Page Flip Enabled
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About the author.

H. R. McMaster is the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Stanford University. He is also the Susan and Bernard Liautaud Fellow at The Freeman Spogli Institute and Lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He serves as chairman of the advisory board of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Japan Chair at the Hudson Institute. A native of Philadelphia, H.R. graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1984. He served as a U.S. Army officer for thirty-four years and retired as a lieutenant general in 2018. He remained on active duty while serving as the twenty-sixth assistant to the president for national security affairs. He taught history at West Point and holds a PhD in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Product details

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CLL1RMVC
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper (August 27, 2024)
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 27, 2024
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 24832 KB
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
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• Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 348 pages
• Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0062899503
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Watch CBS News

Former aide H.R. McMaster on how Trump enjoys "pitting people against each other"

By David Martin

August 18, 2024 / 10:22 AM EDT / CBS News

Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster had been a soldier for three decades when Donald Trump named him his national security adviser just one month into his administration. "Lots of people told me not to do it," McMaster said. "People were calling me up who really detested President Trump and saying, 'You can't do it, it'll sulley your reputation.'"

Thirteen months later,  Trump fired him .

"I got used up essentially in the service of Donald Trump," McMaster said. "I was at peace with that. And I was not going to try to keep my job by telling the president what he wanted to hear."

Now, in a book titled "At War With Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House," McMaster (a CBS News contributor) describes a White House where "everything ... was much harder than it needed to be."

"None of the friction that I encountered in the White House was completely unprecedented, but it was next level," he said. "It went to 11! Everything was cranked up to a higher level."

His first real business meeting with Trump was a presidential daily brief, an intelligence briefing that all presidents get. McMaster said, "I have a distinct impression of that meeting of being really not very effective for the president. President Trump plays to an audience, and it was too big of an audience in the Oval Office."

Martin asked, "And would the audience play to him?"

"The audience would play to him. I describe the environment as an environment of competitive sycophancy," McMaster replied.

"Did he want advice, or did he want flattery?"

"The president wanted advice; he also wanted flattery. He really likes the adulation. In many ways he's kind of addicted to adulation from his political base, from people around him."

McMaster was happy to serve and eager to reverse what he considered President Obama's "weak-kneed" foreign policy. He said, "I saw actually so many of our policies as in need of disruption. I was grateful for [Trump's] disruptive nature. I saw it as my job to try to help him disrupt what needed to be disrupted."

At his first NATO Summit, Trump took disruption to a whole new level. Unhappy some members were not spending enough on defense , he made some last-minute changes to his speech. According to McMaster, Trump added, "If countries don't pay their dues, then we're not going to defend that particular country."

McMaster found out just as they were departing for NATO headquarters. As Trump's limousine pulled up, there was an awkward delay while a frantic intervention took place in the back seat. "I convinced a reluctant Secretary of State Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Mattis to get in the Beast, the President's armored car, with me to talk him out of that," McMaster explained.

It was one of the few times the three of them agreed on something.

McMaster described his relations with Tillerson and Mattis as less than harmonious: "They were difficult at times. They regarded the president as a danger to U.S. interests, a danger to some of our relationships internationally."

Martin asked, "The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense viewed the President of the United States as dangerous? "

"Yes," McMaster replied. "He was dangerous in particular to what they thought an effective foreign policy should be."

McMaster never considered Trump "dangerous," but the president's affinity for autocrats made him uneasy. "President Trump sees in authoritarian leaders the qualities that he wants other people to see in him," he said.

In particular Russian President Vladamir Putin, whom McMaster said would appeal to Trump's "desire for flattery. He would appeal to the president's skepticism about long-term military commitments abroad."

"Could Putin play Trump?" Martin asked.

"He knew really what Trump's predilections were," McMaster said. "One of my roles was to alert him to that – to say, 'Mr. President, you know, this guy is the best liar in the world.'"

• Trump sides with Putin over U.S. intelligence during remarkable press conference in Helsinki ("CBS Evening News")

But when it came to listening to his own advisers, McMaster writes, Trump could be "reflexively contrarian."

"Oh my gosh, if you bring the president a course of action and say, 'Everybody agrees, whatever you do, don't do this thing,' he's going to do it just to spite everybody," he said.

With Venezuela's anti-American regime cracking down on protesters, Trump walked out to meet the press with McMaster, U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. "Rex Tillerson says to him, 'Hey, Mr. President, whatever you do, don't say that we're planning any military options for Venezuela," McMaster recalled.

Trump told the press, "We have many options for Venezuela, and, by the way, I'm not going to rule out a military option ."

Tillerson lasted just over a year before he was fired .

Martin asked, "Why do so many of the senior people who work for Donald Trump end up being either fired, or quitting ?"

"You get used up in that environment," McMaster replied. "President Trump does enjoy kind of pitting people against each other, you know? That creates a lot of angst in people."

"Was he just plain nasty?"

"At times he could be nasty," said McMaster, "especially when he's tired, especially when he's grumpy, especially when he feels beleaguered. There were a couple times where, you know, nobody wanted to be around him, you know? And I'm, like, the last guy. I mean, I have to be with him, right? I would get in the car and he would just unload on me."

The end came after a Trump phone call with Turkey's President Erdoğan, which got off to a bad start when McMaster tried to prep him.

Martin asked, "What did he have against preparation?"

"Well, he found it to be tedious," McMaster replied. "And he had great confidence in his own instincts, right? So, like, Why am I prepping for this? "

McMaster decided to quit, but Trump fired him first, and at a private farewell ceremony told his family, "Make sure he only writes nice things about me."

The Trump campaign did not respond to requests from "CBS Sunday Morning" for comment about McMaster's book.

McMaster retreated to the ivory tower of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where he writes and teaches, and where he watched the events of January 6th . Trump, he said, "encouraged an attack, you know, on the first branch of government, and an attack on the peaceful transition of power, and I think that that was an abandonment of his responsibilities to the Constitution."

Martin asked, "Is he fit to hold office?"

"That's the judgment that the American people have to make; I don't want to tell people how to vote," McMaster replied.

"Will he be getting your vote?"

"I'm not gonna ever tell anybody my vote," he said.

But he will tell you what he experienced in the first Trump administration – and what that might mean for a second.

"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme," McMaster said. "I think it does, you know, foreshadow what we might expect in a second Trump administration as well."

        For more info:

• "At War With Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House"  by H.R. McMaster (HarperCollins), in Hardcover, Large Print, eBook and Audio formats, available August 27 via  Amazon ,  Barnes & Noble  and  Bookshop.org
• H.R. McMaster, Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution

       Story produced by Mary Walsh. Editor: Emanuele Secci. 

• H.R. McMaster
• Donald Trump

David Martin has been CBS News' national security correspondent, covering the Pentagon and the State Department, since 1993.

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Gen. McMaster’s blistering account of the Trump White House

U ntil now, Lt.  Gen. H.R. McMaster  has held his fire about his stint in the Trump White House. McMaster served with distinction in key American conflicts of the past decades: the Gulf War, the Iraq War, and the Afghan War, but as McMaster recounts in his new book , “At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House,” in some ways, his most challenging tour as a soldier was his last one: serving as the national security adviser to a notoriously mercurial president.

In his blistering, insightful account of his time in the Trump White House, McMaster describes meetings in the Oval Office as “exercises in competitive sycophancy” during which Trump’s advisers would flatter the president by saying stuff like, “Your instincts are always right” or, “No one has ever been treated so badly by the press.” Meanwhile, Trump would say “outlandish” things like, “Why don’t we just bomb the drugs?” in Mexico or, “Why don’t we take out the whole North Korean Army during one of their parades?”

McMaster’s book, which focuses on Trump’s tenure as commander-in-chief, comes at a particularly timely moment, just as many Americans start to really consider whether Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris would make a better commander-in-chief.

In her  acceptance speech  for her nomination to the presidency at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, Harris spent some of her speech trying to demonstrate her national security credentials. She talked, for instance, about the war in Gaza, saying that as president she would stand firm on the US alliance with Israel to “ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself.” Harris also said that the Palestinians have “their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination.” With this speech, Harris was trying to thread a delicate needle between Americans who strongly oppose the war — many of them in her own party — and those who back Israel wholeheartedly.

McMaster provides unique detail on Trump’s approach to foreign policy and — similarly to his successor in the national security adviser role, former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton, who wrote scathingly about the former president in a book published in 2020 — his account is likely to do little to reassure US allies about the prospects of a second Trump term.

In addition to being a highly decorated officer,  McMaster  also has a doctorate in history. His first book, “Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam,” recounted the dismal history of how the top American generals told President Lyndon Johnson only what they thought he wanted to hear about the Vietnam War, rather than giving him their best military advice about how the conflict was going and the full range of policy options that were open to their commander in chief.

‘Tell Trump what he didn’t want to hear’

McMaster wasn’t going to make the same mistake after Trump tapped him to be his national security adviser in February 2017. He writes, “I knew that to fulfill my duty, I would have to tell Trump what he didn’t want to hear.” This helps explain why McMaster  lasted just over a year  in the job. (Disclosure: I have known McMaster professionally since 2010, when he ran an anti-corruption task force in Afghanistan).

One subject was particularly neuralgic for Trump: Russia. McMaster astutely observes, “I wished that Trump could separate the issue of Russian election meddling from the legitimacy of his presidency. He could have said, ‘Yes, they attacked the election. But Russia doesn’t care who wins our elections. What they want to do is pit Americans against one another… .’ McMaster writes that the “fragility” of Trump’s ego and “his deep sense of aggrievement” would never allow him to make this kind of distinction.

McMaster felt it was his “duty” to point out to Trump that Russian President Vladimir Putin “was not and would never be Trump’s friend.” McMaster warned Trump that Putin is “the best liar in the world” and would try to “play” Trump to get what he wanted and manipulate him with “ambiguous promises of a ‘better relationship.’”

The final straw that ended McMaster’s tenure in the White House seems to have been when he publicly said on February 17, 2018, at the Munich Security Forum — the annual gathering of top Western foreign policy officials — that the indictment of a group of Russian intelligence officers for their interference in the 2016 US presidential election was “ inconvertible” evidence of Russian meddling  in that election.

Trump soon  tweeted , “General McMaster forgot to say that the results of the 2016 election were not impacted or changed by the Russians….” Once the commander-in-chief started publicly castigating him on Twitter, it was obvious that McMaster would not be long for the White House.

McMaster’s account of the Trump team is not pretty.  Steve Bannon , Trump’s “chief strategist” early in the presidency, is portrayed as a “fawning court jester” who played “on Trump’s anxiety and sense of beleaguerment … with stories, mainly about who was out to get him and what he could do to ‘counterpunch.’”

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis were often at odds with Trump, McMaster says. Tillerson, who had previously run Exxon, is portrayed as inaccessible to top officials in Trump’s administration, while Mattis is described as an obstructionist. McMaster writes that Tillerson and Mattis viewed Trump as “dangerous” and seemed to construe their roles as if “Trump was an emergency and that anyone abetting him was an adversary.” Trump himself also contributed to the dysfunction: “He enjoyed and contributed to interpersonal drama in the White House and across the administration.”

Also, McMaster wasn’t on the same page as his boss on some key foreign policy issues. McMaster enumerates those issues as “allies, authoritarians, and Afghanistan.” Trump denigrated American allies whom he saw as “freeloaders”; he embraced authoritarian rulers who McMaster despised; and while Trump largely believed Afghanistan was a lost cause, McMaster  thought there was a path forward  for the country, and he pushed for a more significant US commitment there, while simultaneously blocking a cockamamie  notion  by Bannon to turn the conduct of the Afghan war over to American private military contractors.

McMaster credits Trump on Syria and China

McMaster does give Trump his due for some sound foreign policy decisions. Unlike President Barack Obama, who had dithered over his own “red line” when the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons against civilians, Trump acted decisively when Assad used chemical weapons in early April 2017, killing dozens of civilians. Trump responded by  ordering airstrikes  against the Syrian airbase where the chemical weapons strike was launched from.

And on the most important foreign policy issue, China, McMaster concluded that Trump made the right decisions. McMaster oversaw Trump’s 2017  national security strategy document , which took a tougher public stance on China than previous administrations, calling the Chinese out for stealing US intellectual property every year valued at “hundreds of billions of dollars” while noting that China “is building the most capable and well-funded military in the world, after our own.” Briefed by McMaster on the new national security strategy, Trump responded, “This is fantastic,” and asked for similar language in his upcoming speeches.

The assault on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, seems to have marked a decisive break from Trump for McMaster, who, in a  previous book  published in 2020, “Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World,” had avoided direct criticisms of his former commander in chief.

By contrast, in his new book, McMaster writes that in the aftermath of his 2020 electoral defeat, Trump’s “ego and love of self… drove him to abandon his oath to ‘support and defend the Constitution,’ a president’s highest obligation.” McMaster adds, “The attack on the US Capitol stained our image, and it will take a long-term effort to restore what Donald Trump, his enablers, and those they encouraged took from us that day.”

So, what might this all mean for a second Trump term, if there is one? The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 outlines plans for Trump loyalists to replace numerous career foreign service officers and intelligence officials. Those loyalists would likely tell Trump precisely what he wants to hear rather than give the president their unvarnished assessments of the national security challenges facing the US, which is the proper role of American national security professionals.

Trump has tried to distance himself from Project 2025, but the fact that CNN found at least 140 people who worked for Trump are involved in the project speaks for itself.  And in a second Trump term, there would likely be no McMasters to tell Trump what he doesn’t want to hear; in fact, that’s kind of the whole point of Project 2025,  which would replace  as many as 50,000 workers in the federal government with Trump loyalists.

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Explaining Claims About Tim Walz’s Military Service

Four veterans who investigate claims of fraudulent military service said they do not believe the governor is guilty of “stolen valor,” but that he did misrepresent his record at times.

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By Linda Qiu

Reporting from Washington

Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota has faced fresh scrutiny over his military service, and how he has characterized his record, in the weeks since he was selected as Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate.

The attacks, spearheaded by his rival for the vice presidency who himself is a veteran, JD Vance, have dogged him since he first ran for Congress nearly two decades ago. Mr. Walz has forcefully defended his time in the Army National Guard.

“I am damn proud of my service to this country,” Mr. Walz said this month . “And I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s service record.”

Some details of Mr. Walz’s service are still unknown, and other facts may remain unverifiable. Here’s what we know.

What Was Said

“What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage. Do not pretend to be something that you’re not.” — Mr. Vance at a rally in Michigan in August

“How dare @GovTimWalz claim he went to war when he did not. While I am not a combat veteran, I did not dodge service. He’s a coward. This is grossly misleading and, by definition, illegal. Walz never deployed and is falsely claiming he did. This is stolen valor.” — Representative Anna Paulina Luna, Republican of Florida, on social media in August

The Trump campaign and other critics have cited a few comments Mr. Walz has made as evidence that he has lied about having served in combat.

The Stolen Valor Act makes it a federal crime to falsely claim to have received a military valor award for financial gain or for other benefits. There is no evidence that Mr. Walz has violated that law.

But colloquially, the term lacks a uniform definition, with veterans and members of the military community differing over what constitutes “stolen valor” in general and whether Mr. Walz has crossed that line in particular.

The New York Times interviewed four veterans who specialize in investigating cases of deception about service and who have collectively documented thousands of cases of stolen valor throughout decades of research.

All four said that they do not believe Mr. Walz engaged in stolen valor, but that he did misrepresent his record at times or, at the very least, has not always been precise. In comparison, the investigators gave actual examples of stolen valor, such as politicians repeatedly and falsely claiming to have served in wars they had not or earning medals they had not .

Doug Sterner, a military historian widely considered to be a leading researcher of military service claims and who helped draft the Stolen Valor Act , called the criticisms of Mr. Walz “politically motivated” and unfair, though he agreed that Mr. Walz had misrepresented elements of his service.

Anthony Anderson, a retired Army sergeant who runs the website Guardian of Valor , which chronicles false claims of military service or awards, noted that Mr. Walz’s story “is something I wouldn’t even put on my website.” Given that Mr. Walz has misspoken and fails to correct the record at times, there is reason to believe that “he is definitely embellishing his record to gain points with the voters,” Mr. Anderson said.

But he added, “I wouldn’t consider that stolen valor.”

Here is a rundown of Mr. Walz’s references to his service.

A comment about being “in war”

The clearest example of embellishment was a remark Mr. Walz made in 2018 saying that he had “carried a weapon of war in war.”

Mr. Walz has not been in war, and the Harris campaign has said that he misspoke .

Throughout his political career, Mr. Walz has usually said he was “in support” of Operation Enduring Freedom when describing his service. That is the official name for the combat mission in Afghanistan that began in October 2001 and ended December 2014.

Mr. Walz’s unit — the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery of the Minnesota Army National Guard — was deployed in 2003 in support of the operation , though he was stationed in Italy, not Afghanistan or the Middle East. (This was not atypical: Of the 45,000 military personnel assigned to the combat mission that fall, less than a third, or about 10,000, were actually stationed in Afghanistan. )

During Mr. Walz’s first congressional race in 2006, a resident wrote to a local newspaper accusing Mr. Walz of misleading voters through “artful omission” and wrongly implying he had served in combat. Mr. Walz strongly objected, writing to the same newspaper that his campaign website clearly stated that he had served overseas “in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.”

After his election to the House of Representatives, Mr. Walz continued to specify that he served “in support” of that combat mission.

Some have noted that Mr. Walz has not corrected others when they have referred to him as an “Afghanistan veteran,” a term that may more directly imply being stationed there. For example, on a television program in 2016 , the host characterized Mr. Walz as a veteran who had served in “Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan,” to which Mr. Walz nodded.

A campaign sign

Allies of Mr. Trump have also pointed to a sign that Mr. Walz held in 2004, while campaigning for John Kerry, the Democratic candidate for president, that appeared to read, “Enduring Freedom Veterans for Kerry.” A news release issued by Mr. Walz’s 2006 congressional campaign also identified him as an “Operation Enduring Freedom veteran.”

So Mr. Walz’s sign was not inaccurate. But whether the term “Enduring Freedom veteran” implies being physically present in Afghanistan is open to interpretation.

For example, to be eligible for a license plate bearing those words, residents of Kansas must furnish proof that they received an Afghanistan campaign medal, indicating service in the country, while those in Virginia need only the words “Operation Enduring Freedom” printed on official paperwork.

A Green Beret hat

Additionally, critics have cited Mr. Walz repeatedly wearing a baseball cap of a regiment he did not belong to. The cap bearing the insignia of the 1st Special Forces Group was a gift to Mr. Walz during a 2008 congressional visit to Afghanistan , the Harris campaign said.

The Times found no evidence that Mr. Walz has claimed to be a member of the Special Forces. Neither has Kevin Knapp, a retired Special Forces major who operates Guardians of the Green Beret , a website that looks at claims about serving in the Special Forces.

Mr. Knapp said that while he questioned Mr. Walz’s decision to continue wearing the gift and that he personally would never wear insignia that he did not earn, he considered the cap a “nonissue” and not an example of stolen valor.

“A lot of people we get contacted about, there’s photographic evidence, tattoos or conversations of ‘I was a Green Beret and I was behind the lines and I did all of this,’ and they never did,” Mr. Knapp said, adding that a trail of misrepresentation did not exist in Mr. Walz’s case.

“Tim Walz claimed to be a command sergeant major, even had it printed on his challenge coins, and he knew he never achieved that rank.” — Mr. Vance in a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in August

Mr. Walz repeatedly referred to himself as a retired command sergeant major — the highest rank possible for enlisted soldiers — throughout his political career.

While he served at that rank in the last weeks of his National Guard service, Mr. Walz was reverted to one rank lower, master sergeant, as he did not complete coursework required. In other words, he served as command sergeant major, but retired as a master sergeant.

The Minnesota National Guard said that Mr. Walz was promoted to sergeant major on Sept. 17, 2004, and was appointed command sergeant major on April 1, 2005. He retired on May 16, 2005, but was “administratively reduced” to master sergeant a day earlier.

It is not clear when Mr. Walz was officially informed of this change, the spokeswoman said. But paperwork obtained by Mr. Anderson of Guardian of Valor suggested that his rank was corrected in September 2005, after he had retired.

Regardless, Mr. Walz continued to refer to himself as a “command sergeant major,” including in his 2018 campaign for governor and on the Harris campaign website. The campaign has since updated the website to note that he “served,” not “retired,” at that rank. Mr. Walz had also issued a congressional coin bearing the insignia of a command sergeant major.

Most stolen valor investigators reached by The Times said Mr. Walz’s repeated citations of a higher rank were perhaps the most pernicious of his past remarks.

“That was a choice, an intentional choice that was not a misspoken comment in the excitement of the moment,” Mr. Knapp said.

Jeff, a retired Navy corpsman who researches for the website Military Phonies and asked to be identified only by his first name for fear of retribution, said the “retired command sergeant major” references especially stands out because service members are typically aware of the requirements to attain a rank. Mr. Walz, he added, chose to not complete his coursework.

While Mr. Sterner agreed that Mr. Walz had been inaccurate in describing his rank, he suggested that aspects of service, including rank and recognition, can shift after service. He noted he knew of at least a dozen veterans who continued to wear the Silver Star or Distinguished Service Cross decades after their awards were upgraded to the Medal of Honor, adding, “Are you going to go after them?”

Mr. Sterner likened Mr. Walz to “a fisherman that caught a 21-pound fish that everybody said, ‘No, it was 20 pounds.’ Maybe it lost a pound between the time he caught it and when he got to the weigh station.”

“You abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq.” — Mr. Vance at the Michigan rally

“Tim Walz TURNED HIS BACK on the soldiers in his unit because he was TOO afraid to deploy to Iraq!!” — Representative Ronny L. Jackson, Republican of Texas, in a social media post in August

This claim stems from criticisms over when Mr. Walz decided to retire from the National Guard .

Mr. Walz served for 24 years, past the 20 years of service required for retirement. ( Only 10 percent of enlisted service members retire ; the vast majority discharge from the military before 20 years.)

He enlisted in the Nebraska Army National Guard in April 1981 as an infantryman just days after his 17th birthday, and transferred to the Minnesota Army National Guard in August 1996 with the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery, according to the Minnesota Guard.

Mr. Walz filed paperwork declaring his intent to run for a seat in the House of Representatives in February 2005. In March 2005, his campaign released a statement noting that the National Guard had announced “a possible partial mobilization of 2,000 troops” from Minnesota and that it would require all or part of Mr. Walz’s battalion to deploy to Iraq within the next two years. Mr. Walz said he would stay in the race and serve if called upon.

Mr. Walz retired officially on May 16, 2005. It is unknown when he submitted his retirement paperwork, the Minnesota National Guard said, noting that the process varies but approval can take 30 to 120 days.

The unit received an alert order for mobilization to Iraq on July 14, 2005, the Minnesota National Guard said. But it did not receive an official Pentagon mobilization order until August 2005. It mobilized in October 2005 and deployed to Iraq in March 2006.

Members of his battalion previously told The Times that rumors of a possible deployment had begun circulating as Mr. Walz considered a run for Congress. Jack Cook, who served in the unit after Mr. Walz retired, said in a separate interview that senior members of the command staff knew of potential missions and deployments long before the actual unit notifications went out.

Ultimately, whether Mr. Walz submitted his retirement paperwork before the possible deployment announcement is unclear. But he retired after the announcement of a possible deployment, and before an unofficial alert was issued and an official order was received.

John Ismay and Thomas Gibbons-Neff contributed reporting.

Linda Qiu is a reporter who specializes in fact-checking statements made by politicians and public figures. She has been reporting and fact-checking public figures for nearly a decade. More about Linda Qiu