Free Republic

<p>Politics makes strange bedfellows, and it does funny things to birds, too. Some of our doves, accustomed to flying on only one wing — the left — are auditioning as hawks.</p> <p>Over 40 years the Democrats have raised sneering at military service and sacrifice to an art form. The mere sight of a uniform, especially if bedecked with medals and service ribbons, often sends liberals into something close to cardiac arrest. Add a flag or two and a little martial music and some Democrats (a former president and his mouthy wife come to mind) imagine they're back at the Nuremberg rally.</p>

In defense of Lt. Bush By Charles D. Youree, Jr. President Bush's military service is being unjustly vilified. I feel a sense of anger and frustration when I hear that instead of volunteering for Vietnam, Mr. Bush "hid out" flying fighter/interceptor jets in the Air National Guard (ANG) for four years. As a former Air Force pilot with 6,000 hours of flying time, including more than 3,000 hours in jet fighters, I know that whenever you strapped yourself into a jet fighter and took off, you were in harm's way. Your life was on the line. As fighter pilots, we...

The Washington Timeswww.washingtontimes.com In defense of Lt. BushBy Charles D. Youree, Jr.Published October 11, 2004          President Bush's military service is being unjustly vilified. I feel a sense of anger and frustration when I hear that instead of volunteering for Vietnam, Mr. Bush "hid out" flying fighter/interceptor jets in the Air National Guard (ANG) for four years.     As a former Air Force pilot with 6,000 hours of flying time, including more than 3,000 hours in jet fighters, I know that whenever you strapped yourself into a jet fighter and took off, you were in harm's way. Your life was on...

FORT WORTH, Texas - (KRT) - Fifty-one members of Congress have requested an investigation into the suspected forgery of memos used by CBS to report on President Bush's service in the National Guard. Kathy Colvin, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Dallas, said Tuesday that federal officials were "still consulting" with the Justice Department in Washington and that no decision had been made on whether to launch an investigation. The Texas Rangers, meanwhile, have also been asked to look into the matter by U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, in a letter signed by him and other Republicans...

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - A Central Texas radio station is severing its ties with CBS News after receiving hundreds of complaints about the network's coverage of President Bush's military record. Bryan-College Station radio station WTAW will begin airing national news from ABC within 90 days, station manager Ben Downs said. About 350 people wrote to the station to complain about CBS' discredited "60 Minutes" report on Bush's National Guard service. The network's Sept. 8 report centered on questionable memos that suggested Bush got preferential treatment because of his family ties. Anchor Dan Rather later offered an on-air apology on...

Nat'l Guard Produces More Bush Records Published: October 06, 2004 12:10 PM EDT WASHINGTON More than a week after a court-imposed deadline to turn over all records of President Bush's military service, the Texas Air National Guard belatedly produced two documents Tuesday that include Bush's orders for his last day of active duty in 1973. The orders show Bush was on "no-fly" status for his last days of duty because he had been grounded almost a year earlier for skipping an annual medical exam. The files, released to The Associated Press under a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, are orders...

WASHINGTON - More than a week after a court-imposed deadline to turn over all records of President Bush's military service, the Texas Air National Guard belatedly produced two documents Tuesday that include Bush's orders for his last day of active duty in 1973. The orders show Bush was on "no-fly" status for his last days of duty because he had been grounded almost a year earlier for skipping an annual medical exam. The files, released to The Associated Press under a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, are orders for Bush to appear for two stints of active-duty training: a 1971...

Texas Guard beat President Bush's tenure as a Texas Air National Guard pilot has become a cottage industry in Texas. A group of former guardsmen, led by Bill Burkett, offers up all sorts of sordid Bush stories to any reporter willing to fly into Texas and root around for a while. Former Bush colleagues in the guard have been interviewed scores of times. They tell some interesting stories about their press contacts. One retired officer quotes a reporter for a major East Coast daily as telling him she wants off the Bush guard beat, but her editors tell her to...

Winging it with ‘W’ By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712, E-Mail OCEAN CITY - Joseph Tordella is sure President George W. Bush served his country honorably as a member of the Texas Air National Guard. How does he know? Tordella was Bush's wingman in the F-102 fighter jet. The former U.S. Air Force pilot trained with Bush in early 1972. This is the year of Bush's military service that, 32 years later, has come under increasing scrutiny by those who claim he shirked his guard duties. Tordella, 66, said he flew with Bush in March or April of that...

Major General Bobby Hodges places a neat stack of newspaper clippings next to two decks of playing cards, the gear of a bridge aficionado. The clips are heavily highlighted. There are photos in the stack, too. One hazy black-and-white shot shows a ground crew shoving a delta-winged F-102 fighter. The canopy is open. The pilot is visible in the cockpit. Hodges piloted the F-102 in Vietnam while in the Texas Air National Guard. He flew 51 combat missions from South Vietnam and northern Thailand, escorting B-52 bombers and intercepting enemy aircraft during a 90-day tour known as Palace Alert....

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040930/480/wx12109300222 The White House produced Wednesday night, Sept. 29, 2004, this newly unearthed document on President Bush (news - web sites)'s Guard service, seven months after it said all materials on the subject had been publicly released. The new document was a copy of Bush's resignation in 1974 declaring he was leaving the Guard because of 'inadequate time to fulfill possible future commitments.' White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the resignation was found in connection with a lawsuit brought by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Department of Defense (news - web sites))

DENVER (AP) - Air Force Reserve officials here, as well as staffers at the White House, were struggling to explain the sudden appearance of a 1974 document in which George W. Bush submitted his resignation from the Reserve, saying he had "inadequate time" to fulfill his duty obligations. The White House found the document yesterday and contacted the Air Reserve Personnel Center in Denver, where Bush was serving at the time he wrote the letter. Bush had ordered the release of all of his service records in February. Reserve Center public affairs spokesman Lt. Col. Tom Deall said he sent...

Bush Document Details Military DepartureWASHINGTON (AP) - The White House said seven months ago that it had released all the records on President Bush's stateside military service during the Vietnam War, yet new records are still dribbling out as Election Day approaches. The White House on Wednesday night produced a November 1974 document bearing Bush's signature from Cambridge, Mass., where he was attending Harvard Business School, saying he had decided not to continue as a member of the military reserve. The document, signed a year after Bush left the Texas Air National Guard, said he was leaving the military because...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush never was disciplined while serving in the Texas Air National Guard, never failed a physical and never asked his father or family friends for help to get him into the Guard during the Vietnam War, the White House said Wednesday. Meanwhile, the White House on Wednesday night produced a previously unreleased document from Bush's personnel file on his military service, seven months after it said all materials on the subject had been given to the public. The November 1974 document bearing Bush's signature from Cambridge, Mass., where he was attending Harvard Business School says he...

Favorable Treatment: Let’s Get The Facts Straight Claim: Some of have charged that George W. Bush “leaped ahead” of 100,000 other people on waiting lists to join the National Guard. They say this proves he used influence and received favorable treatment as a result. Truth: This is fallacious at best. There may have been 100,000 on waiting lists across the whole country in all 50 states at the time, but not in the Texas Air National Guard, which is where Bush signed up. It is like walking into a grocery store and finding an empty line, but someone says...

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush never was disciplined while serving in the Texas Air National Guard, never failed a physical and never asked his father or family friends for help to get him into the guard during the Vietnam War, the White House said Wednesday. The White House answers came in response to a dozen questions submitted by The Associated Press in light of new records detailing Bush's Guard service and allegations that have surfaced this election season. The Texas Air National Guard stripped Bush of his pilot status in August 1972 for failing to take the annual medical exam...

TANG Evaluations of Lt. Bush FACTS AND SPECIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS: Lt. Bush is an exceptionally fine young officer and pilot. After completing the F-102 all weather interceptor school in November 1969, he came to this unit as a highly qualified fighter interceptor pilot. Lt. Bush possesses sound judgment and is mature beyond his age and experience level. During the last weapons firing deployment, he delivered both primary and secondary weapons from the F-102. Lt. Bush performed in an outstanding manner following the test project requirements set forth. He also participated in a practice element deployment during annual field training. He...

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - President Bush said in a television interview he does not think he received favorable treatment that allowed him to get into the Texas Air National Guard while many of his peers were drafted to fight in Vietnam. "No. I don't... I'm not aware of it," Bush said in the interview broadcast on Tuesday when asked whether family connections had helped him get a coveted place in the Guard. He cited comments by the former commander of his Guard unit, Walter "Buck" Staudt, who, according to Bush, "said the other day, publicly, I got no preferential treatment."...

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) said in a television interview he does not think he received favorable treatment that allowed him to get into the Texas Air National Guard while many of his peers were drafted to fight in Vietnam. "No. I don't... I'm not aware of it," Bush said in the interview broadcast on Tuesday when asked whether family connections had helped him get a coveted place in the Guard. He cited comments by the former commander of his Guard unit, Walter "Buck" Staudt, who, according to Bush, "said the other day, publicly, I...

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon released 10 pages of records from President Bush's Vietnam-era service in the Texas Air National Guard late yesterday, but the files shed no new light on his military career. The records include several that have been released before and others that are administrative files or cover letters to other documents that have been previously released. Yesterday was the court-ordered deadline for the Pentagon to turn over all records it could find on Bush's Texas Air National Guard service. The White House has repeatedly announced this year that all of Bush's records have been released, only to...