|
|
Military service (last updated July 2004)
While trying to make a point about James K. Bath, who did invest $50,000 in George W. Bush's first company Arbusto in the 1970s (see here), Fahrenheit 9/11 brings up George W. Bush's military record and accuses him of being a deserter.
President George W. Bush served during the Vietnam War in the Texas Air National Guard. Military records released to the public show that Bush enlisted in the Texas Air National Guard in May 1968, was commissioned there in September 1968, and was suspended in August 1972 for failing to take an annual medical examination. He moved to Boston to attend Harvard Business School in the fall of 1973 and officially served as a reservist with a unit in Denver for the final year of his service, and he was officially discharged in November 1974.
His initial evaluations in the Air National Guard were positive. Lt. Colonel Bobby Hodges wrote in 1971 that Bush was an "an outstanding young pilot and officer and is a credit to this unit. I have personally observed his participation, and without exception, his performance has been noteworthy. This officer is rated in the upper 10% of his contemporaries."
However, Bush apparently received no evaluation for the year in which he was suspended for failing to take his medical examination or afterwards. This was also the year in which Bush worked on a political campaign in Alabama, which could explain why he did not take a medical examination and why he was not evaluated.
Bush served less over the course of his enlistment. Service members received points towards retirement for the days that they served. Bush received 253 points his first year of service and 340 his second, but only received 137 points his third year, 112 his fourth, 56 his fifth, and 40 his sixth.
Bush discussed his military service in his 1999 autobiography, "A Charge to Keep." There, he explained that he decided to join the Texas Air National Guard because his father had been a fighter pilot during World War II and because he had heard about openings there. According to Bush, he took pilot training in November 1968 in Georgia, graduated in December 1969, and then served at the Ellington Air Force Base in Houston, where he learned to fly the F-102A Delta Dagger Interceptor. He wrote that he then "continued flying with my unit for the next several years;" he does not mention any time in Alabama or explain the circumstances for his leaving the Guard.
Questions have arisen several times about President George W. Bush's military record and whether he served a complete term in the Texas Air National Guard. The White House responded by releasing various records in mid-February, and Bush himself said in a February 8, 2004 interview with Tim Russert (on-line here) that he had fully served. "There may be no evidence, but I did report; otherwise, I wouldn't have been honorably discharged," he said.
"I served, and I am proud of my service," Bush wrote in his 1999 book. "Yet I know it was nothing comparable to what our soldiers and pilots were doing in battle in Vietnam. I lost several friends there, pilots I trained with in flight school. They are heroes."
USA Today has Bush's military records on-line here. The following chronology was based on a review of those documents:
- May 27, 1968: Bush enlisted in the Texas Air National Guard at Ellington Air Force Base.
- September 3, 1968: Bush was discharged from enlisted status in the Texas Air National Guard.
- September 4, 1968: Bush was commissioned in the Texas Air National Guard.
- November 1969: Bush began service at Ellington AFB.
- November 7, 1970: Bush was promoted to 1st Lieutenant.
- May 27, 1971: An evaluation covering November 1969 to April 1971 praised Bush as an "exceptionally fine young officer and pilot" and notes that he "is a natural leader," "a good follower of military discipline," and "has outstanding growth potential." Lt. Colonel Bobby Hodges wrote that he concurred with the evaluation and that Bush was "an outstanding young pilot and officer and is a credit to this unit. I have personally observed his participation, and without exception, his performance has been noteworthy. This officer is rated in the upper 10% of his contemporaries."
- May 26, 1972: An evaluation covering May 1971 through April 1972 praised Bush again and also noted that Bush "is very active in civic affairs in the community and manifests a deep interest in the operation of our government," and that he "is a good representative of the military and Air National Guard in the business world." Hodges concurred with the evaluation, but did not note that Bush was rated in the top ten percent.
- August 1, 1972: Bush was suspended due to a failure to accomplish an annual medical examination. "Verbal orders of the Comdr on 1 Aug 72 suspending 1STLT GEORGE W BUSH, [REDACTED], ANGUS (Not on EAD), TX ANG., Hq 147 Ftr Gp. Ellington AFD, Houston TX, from flying status are confirmed, exigencies of the service having been such as to preclude the publication of competent written orders in advance. Reason for suspension: Failure to accomplish annual medical examination. Off will comply with para 2-10, AFM 35-13. Authority: Para 2-29m, AFM 35-13."
- May 1973: Bush received no evaluation for the period covering May 1, 1972 through April 30, 1973.
- September 1973: Bush requested a discharge from the Air National Guard and reassignment to ARPC (MARS) effective October 1, 1973 because "I am moving to Boston, Massachusetts to attend Harvard Business School as a full time student." Colonel Bobby Hodges signed the application for discharge dated September 18, 1973.
- October 1973: Bush began service officially in Denver, CO.
- November 21, 1974: Bush was discharged.
back to top
|
|
|
Index / Home
About this site
Updates/Blog
Search via Google
Mailing List
FootnoteTV ®
Best viewed with small text size.
George W. Bush
|
|
