Bush met military obligation [Bush Was At Alabama Base, Says Ex-Guardsman ]

The Birmingham News ^ | 02/11/04 | MARY ORNDORFF and BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE

[Hon]

Thanks to Brig. Gen. Turnipseed for forwarding me this story.

[kcvl]

Thank you for calling him!

[Ronin]

It's good to see the real vets coming out to support Bush. The guys who knew him.

Kerry is going to be in hurt city. Especially with the words from Bush's fellow pilot starting to get out.

[3catsanadog]

Maybe the reason more folks don't remember Bush in the Guard is that they are afraid the Dem's will send hit men to mess their heads up so bad, they'll end up vegetables in a nursing home, wearing diapers.

[Hon]

"However, Turnipseed said Bush was not under an obligation to report and could miss drills with the 187th as long as he made up enough points in the year to fulfill his obligation.

"You know, probably, rules were a little looser back then than they are now. If you go in the Guard now, you are going to end up in Iraq," Turnipseed said.

Turnipseed said he is a Bush supporter.

"I'm fed up," he said. "People want me to give them something to bash Bush."

++++++

That is exactly what he told me.

[ambrose]

These treasonous scumbag Democrats have probably done more to unite the wavering Republicans annoyed by amnesty and medicare than Bush/Rove ever could have on their own.

[ambrose]

Interesting how they bury the eyewitness account.

[EGPWS]

On the service issues, politically, Bush 10, Kerry maybe 2 and the campaign hasn't even started yet for Dubya!

[KQQL]

lol...u are so right..

[KC_Conspirator]

You know that I have been quite ambivalent about Bush since the amnesty and the spending, but I am furious over this smear by the dems and the press. I am actually doing work for the party again because of it.

[Terry Mross]

I think Bush has out smarted them once again. He always gives them just enough rope to hang themselves. I hope McCauliff and Kerry and Moore and Cleland keep it up. Most of the liberal democrats already know the truth because their boy PETAH JENNINGS gave it to them when he nailed Clark. Cleland and his bunch are shouting to the wind.

[Hon]

"Interesting how they bury the eyewitness account."

Isn't it, though? Even in Alabama. Sheesh!

[Hon]

I wish I had worded the headline better--but this is really the final nail in the coffin of this story.

There is now a WITNESS.

[ambrose]

you can ask the Mod to change the title...

[cat lover too]

Thanks for posting this. But let me get this straight, they asked for a live witness for days now, here you find a live witness who saw him there, and it ends up in the last paragraph. The first few paragraphs are still misleading to me.

[McGavin999]

YOOOOHOOOOO! Howlin....over here!

[backhoe]

Cross-linking once again-

-The Real Military Record of George W. Bush: Not Heroic, but Not AWOL, Either-The Original Story--

[Steel and Fire and Stone]

I was USNR for 11 years (plus active duty), and left as a Commander. I've elaborated at length about this previously, so I'll just mention a few things:

• Things were "looser" in the 60's and 70's. In the 80's (my era), the Navy changed requirements to both quarterly AND annual. Resevists could post-phone drills a maximum of 90 days, i.e. scheduling 3 months into one weekend. The reason for the change was the common practice during Bush's era of stacking six months, even a year into one period of service (i.e. 2 weeks or a month of drills during summer, at the same time they did their annual 2-week duty.).

• Navy Reserve pilots at Miramar Naval Air Station (now USMC) routinely drilled six days (i.e. "12" drills) once a quarter, when I had duty there. They told me it was the "only sensible way to get our quals in", because (a) they were airline pilots, and had the week to give up, and lived 1500 miles away from the Air Station, and (b) because getting training and hours on the aircraft was easier for the Active duty Command to schedule a week at a time.

Maybe those are Bush's reasons, or maybe he missed some drills. That was 30 years ago, and I have to assume that if his C.O.(s) allowed it, and he was honorably discharged, then he was NOT AWOL.

I myself drilled with a unit in Texas during a time when my Company required me to work there. It was either permanent transfer for 2-3 months, quit the USNR, or do TDY with this unit. I don't remember which one it was, they don't remember me, and I'd be hard pressed to prove by documentary evidence that I was there in 1986.

During my last year in the USNR, at my last Command, I drilled in Washington part of the time, meeting with Pentagon-type brass, with my unit part of the time, and at other meetings the rest of the year. My own unit saw me about 1/3 of the year (i.e. I had a good X.O. to back me up), but the result of my time away from the unit was 12 months of the best training the guys could get .. they were always doing "real-world" training with active duty units.

The Reserves and Guard works all sorts of deals for the right guy, more so in the 60's and 70's, but still to day, if it benefits the Service. If Bush was a problem child, he'd wouldn't have been in a jet, let alone allowed "detached" or TDY duty. That's something you "earn".

SFS

[GeronL]

Thank Mr... General Turnipseed for his service to our country, then and now!