Posted on 02/13/2004 4:08:11 AM PST by My Dog Likes Me
Montgomery Advertiser, front page, 13 Feb 04
Pair Say President in Area
Members of Bush's unit have yet to say they remember the president serving duty
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No member of President Bush's Air National Guard Unit has come forward with recollections of him at the Montgomery base, but a Selma Republican leader who campaigned with Bush says she saw him in uniform on his way to drills in 1972.
Jean Sullivan volunteered with Bush on the unsuccessful Senate campaign of Winton Blount in fall 1972, and she says even then there were rumors and rumblings that Bush wasn't showing up for drills.
(Excerpt) Read more at montgomeryadvertiser.com ...
That is a lie.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1076899/posts
`Very active':
Joe LeFevers, a member of the 187th in 1972, said he remembers seeing Bush in unit offices and being told that Bush was in Montgomery to work on Blount's campaign.
"I was going in the orderly room over there one day, and they said, `This is Lt. Bush,'" LeFevers said Tuesday. "They pointed him out to me ... the reason I remember it is because I associate him with Red Blount."
Red Blount's son, Winton Blount III, said Bush was the campaign's deputy manager and spent a lot of time in Birmingham and north Alabama.
"He was a very active part of that campaign," said Blount. "And as my aunt said, she hoped people would act as nice in other people's homes as he did."
A Republican close to Bush supplied phone numbers yesterday for the owner of an insulated-coating business in the Atlanta area, John B. "Bill" Calhoun, 69, who was an officer with the Alabama Air National Guard. Calhoun said in a telephone interview that Bush used to sit in his office and read magazines and flight manuals as he performed weekend duty at Dannelly Field in Montgomery during 1972.
No member of President Bush's Air National Guard unit has come forward with recollections of him at the Montgomery base, but a Selma Republican leader who campaigned with Bush says she saw him in uniform on his way to drills in 1972.
Jean Sullivan volunteered with Bush on the unsuccessful Senate campaign of Winton Blount in fall 1972, and she says even then there were rumors and rumblings that Bush wasn't showing up for drills.
"Some people were saying that he never showed up there, but I know he did because I would see him with his (military uniform) on," Sullivan said. She said she could not remember who made the allegations, but said that they were males in Montgomery working for the Air National Guard. Sullivan said that she called one of the accusers up "and chewed him out" after hearing the allegation.
Bush was transferred from his Texas unit to the 187th Tactical Air Command at Dannelly Air National Guard Base while working on the Blount campaign.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Terrance McAuliffe has called Bush's military service into question in recent weeks, claiming that the president was absent without leave during his time in Alabama.
The White House denies that the president shirked his military duty and has been releasing Bush's military records to counter the allegations.
On Wednesday, a military dental exam was released, dated Jan. 6, 1973, and signed by Montgomery dentist James Andrew Harris, who was a captain with the 187th at the time.
The exam was routine and done for forensic purposes, in the event that an airman needed to be identified through dental records, said Harris, who did not recall examining Bush.
"We would do 40 or 50 exams per weekend. It was open your mouth and let's go. I would recognize them more from their open mouths," said Harris, who said there was nothing unusual about the president's dental record.
Ted Tyrus remembers serving in the 187th in 1972, but he doesn't recall seeing Bush around the base.
"But that doesn't mean he wasn't there. There were a lot of people in the unit, a lot of them were coming and going," said Tyrus, who was a major at the time.
The 187th had approximately 800 members in 1972.
Wayne Rambo, a first lieutenant with the 187th in 1972, echoed Tyrus' statements.
"There's no way I could tell you if he was there, and there's no way that I could tell you that he wasn't there," Rambo said.
The commander of Bush's unit, Wetumpka resident Henry Fillingim, refused to comment on Bush's time with the unit.
When approached at his home by the Montgomery Advertiseron Thursday, a woman who identified herself as Fillingim's wife said he would not speak with the media.
"My husband is 84 years old, I'm trying to protect his health. Don't call here, don't come back here or I'm going to take legal action," she said, adding she was on the phone with her attorney.
William Turnipseed, a retired brigadier general serving at Dannelly in 1972, has maintained that Bush never reported to him at the base, as he was instructed to do.
Winton Blount's son, Winton Blount III, bristled at the allegations that Bush never reported for his military service in Alabama
"It's total crap. It's total bs. He signed up, he flew jets, he was in the National Guard, which is an honorable service to the country," Blount said.
Blount said he remembered Bush as a tireless worker during his father's campaign, who pulled six- and seven-day work weeks traveling around Alabama. He said Bush rented an apartment in Montgomery, and sometimes stayed with Blount relatives in Birmingham when he was on the road.
To bolster his argument that Bush served his time, Blount pointed out that Bush came back to Alabama after the election was over.
"Why would he come back to Alabama after the campaign other than to finish up his military obligation?" he asked.
Blount said he had spoken with people who remembered Bush showing up for drills, but could not give specific names. He could not name any specific instance of Bush going to drills at the air base.
Did General Westmoreland see Kerry when he was allegedly in Viet Nam and where's the paper trail to prove it?
"My parents lived here and they never told me anything," said a current resident in the area.
"My father is sure he never saw Bush driving toward the base. He'd rmember if he had," said a former resident.
BUSH SERVICE TIME LINE
This timeline was taken from an anti-Bush website. I selected it because it is mostly accurate. The problem is the partial truths and the implications. My comments are in ALL CAPS and is based on research and my own experiences and knowledge.
1.) May 28, 1968: Bush enlists as an Airman Basic in the 147th Fighter-Interceptor Group, Ellington Air Force Base, Houston, Texas, and is selected to attend pilot training.
My comments: THERE HAS BEEN TALK THAT BUSH WAS PUSHED TO THE TOP OF THE LIST BECAUSE OF HIS FATHER'S POLITICAL INFLUENCE. The truth is: BUSH WAS SELECTED BECAUSE VERY FEW AIR NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS WERE WILLING TO SIGN UP FOR 2 YEARS OF ACTIVE DUTY (PILOT TRAINING) FOLLOWED BY 4 YEARS IN THE GUARD, FOR A SIX YEAR TOTAL.
2.) July 12, 1968: A three-member board of officers decides that Bush should get a direct commission as a second lieutenant after completing airman's basic training.
My comments: THIS WAS ROUTINE BECAUSE UNDERGRADUATE PILOT TRAINING (UPT) WAS ONLY AVAILABLE TO COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. THERE WAS NO AVIATION CADET PROGRAM AT THAT TIME, NOR IS THERE ONE TODAY.
3.) July 14 to August 25, 1968: Bush attends six weeks of basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
4.) September 4, 1968: Bush is commissioned a second lieutenant and takes an 8-week leave to work on a Senate campaign in Florida.
My comments:
ACTUALLY, HE WAS WAITING FOR HIS (UPT) CLASS TO BEGIN. THE LEAVE WAS UNPAID.
5.) November 25, 1968 to November 28, 1969: Bush attends and graduates from from flight school at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. (UTP Course #P-V4A-A Moody AFB, Ga. 53 weeks November 1969)
6,) January 1, 1970: 147th changes from doing Alert to training F-102 pilots.
7.) December 1969 to June 27, 1970: Bush trains full-time to be an F-102 pilot at Ellington Air Force Base.
My comments:
NOTE THAT IT TAKES SIX MONTHS TO QUALIFY ON THE F-102A AS WITH ANY OF THE 100 SERIES FIGHTERS. THEY ARE VERY DIFFICULT, UNSTABLE AND DANGEROUS TO FLY.
8.) February 1970: Bush attends Preint Pilot Training (T-33 ANG112501 FIVE WEEKS)
9.) July 1970 to April 16, 1972: Bush, as a certified fighter pilot, attends frequent drills and alerts at Ellington Computer records show his last Flight Physical as May 1971. Which also shows him as CR MEM ON FS (crew member on flight service) not PILOT.
My comments:
"CR MEM ON FS" ACTUALLY MEANS CREW MEMBER ON FLIGHT STATUS. IN THE "USAF", ALL FLIGHT-RATED PERSONNEL ARE REFERRED TO AS "CREW MEMBERS" WITH NO DESIGNATION "PILOT, NAVIGATOR, ETC.) THE IMPORTANT DESIGNATOR IS WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE ON FLIGHT STATUS.
10.) May 24, 1972: Bush, who has moved to Alabama to work on a US Senate race, gets permission to serve with a Reserve Unit in Alabama. But headquarters decided Bush must serve with a more active unit.
My comments:
IT MUST BE NOTED THAT THE RESERVE AND THE AIR NATIONAL GUARD ARE TWO DISTINCT ORGANIZATIONS AND DESPISE EACH OTHER. IT'S NOT SURPRISING THAT THE "ANG" WOULD NOT APPROVE THE TRANSFER OF AN OFFICER TO THE RESERVE.
11.) September 5, 1972: Bush is granted permission to do his Guard duty at the 187th Tactical Recon Group in Montgomery. But Bush's records shows no evidence he did the duty, and the unit commander says he never showed up.
My comments:
SEE THE RECENTLY RELEASED BUSH PAY RECORDS. THE UNIT COMMANDER, GENERAL TURNIPSEED, NOW SAYS HE (TURNIPSEED) WAS PROBABLY NOT ON THE BASE AT THAT TIME.
12.) November 1972 to April 30, 1973: Bush returns to Houston, but apparently not to his Air Force unit.
13.) May 2, 1973: The two lieutenant colonels in charge of Bush's unit in Houston cannot rate him for the prior 12 months, saying he has not been at the unit in that period.
My comments:
THEY DIDN'T SAY "HE HAS NOT BEEN AT THE UNIT IN THAT PERIOD" THEY SAID HE HAD NOT BEEN "OBSERVED" BY THEM. THE WORD "OBSERVED" IN AN OFFICER EVALUATION HAS A SPECIFIC MEANING. IT MEANS THAT THE EVALUATING OFFICER PERSONALLY OBSERVED THE OFFICER IN THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS DUTIES. THIS IS NOT SURPRISING SINCE BUSH WAS NOT IN TEXAS UNTIL NOVEMBER AND DID NOT ATTEND DRILLS IN TEXAS UNTIL APRIL 1973.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED (TERRY McAULIFFE, PAY ATTENTION) THAT THE "ANG" DOES NOT NECESSARILY REQUIRE WEEKLY ATTENDANCE, IT REQUIRES A CERTAIN NUMBER OF DAYS PER YEAR.
LT. CO. SCOTT GORSKE, A MILITARY FELLOW AT THE CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES IN WASHINGTON SAID "NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS ARE NOT NECESSARILY REQUIRED TO ATTEND A DRILL EACH MONTH, BUT RATHER TO TRAIN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME OVER A 12 -MONTH PERIOD. THIS IS WHY BUSH COULD HAVE MET HIS YEARLY SERVICE REQUIREMENTS EVEN IF THERE WERE SOME MONTHS IN WHICH HE DID NOT ATTEND A DRILL."
14.) May to July 1973: Bush, after special orders are issued for him to report for duty, logs 36 days of duty.
My comments:
ALL 'USAF' ORDERS NAMING PERSONNEL ARE CALLED "SPECIAL ORDERS". THE 36 DAYS ACTIVE DUTY BROUGHT HIM UP TO 5 DAYS MORE THAN THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE YEAR.
15.) July 30, 1973: His last day in uniform, according to his records.
16) October 1, 1973: A month after Bush starts at Harvard Business School, he is formally discharged from the Texas Air National Guard -- eight months before his six-year term expires.
My comments:
THIS WAS VERY NORMAL AT THAT TIME. THE WAR WAS WINDING DOWN AND GEORGE BUSH'S ONLY "AFSC" (AIR FORCE SPECIALTY CODE) WAS AS A 'FIGHTER-INTERCEPTOR PILOT". HE WAS QUALIFIED ONLY ON THE F-102A. LARGE-SCALE RETIREMENT OF THE F-102A FROM THE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BEGAN IN LATE 1969 AND CONTINUED THROUGHOUT THE 1970s. IN OCTOBER 1973, HE HAD EIGHT MONTHS REMAINING ON HIS ENLISTMENT. THE TEXAS AIR NATIONAL GUARD WAS PHASING OUT THE F-102A AND CONVERTING TO ANOTHER AIRCRAFT. THEY HAD MANY MORE F-102A PILOTS THAN THEY NEEDED AND IT MADE NO SENSE TO SHIP BUSH OFF FOR SIX MONTHS OF TRANSITION TRAINING WHEN HE HAD ONLY EIGHT MONTHS TO GO.
MY PERSONAL COMMENTS.
George Bush could have joined the ANG to avoid the draft. However, that really doesn't make a lot of sense inasmuch as he was a Yale graduate. The odds of a draftee with a degree from Yale ending up as a grunt in Vietnam were virtually nonexistent. He would have been offered OCS (with a four year commitment) or, if he wanted to serve no more than his two years, he would have been a company clerk or some other administrative job. Even the Army is that smart. Assuming he wanted to join the Air National Guard (ANG) so he could be a part-time patriot and live at home, why didn't he just sign up for four years and get it over with?
He opted for pilot training which involved a six year commitment! Think about that. Would you sign up for six years when you could get by in two years with and administrative job? Maybe, just maybe, he wanted to be a fighter pilot like his father was in World War II. Novel concept, wasn't it?
Next, the F-102 was the first supersonic all-weather fighter-interceptor. It was a beast to fly. The regular Air Force passed them on to the ANG as quickly as they could. Any pilot who willingly strapped that thing on his ass and took off gets a tip of my hat. There weren't very many people in Vietman doing anything more hazardous!
Now, about the ANG, at the time period in question, the ANG was charged with the air defense of the continental USA. The Soviet bear was still our major adversary and the ANG was the barrier to Soviet bombers. The ANG were not just weekend warriors boring holes in the sky for fun. They were flying air defense alerts.
Finally, why didn't Bush volunteer for Vietnam service? There is anecdotal evidence that he did, which may or man not be true. The real answer is that it would have done him no good. Bush was rated only as a "fighter-interceptor pilot" and qualified only on the F-102. The USAF, in Vietnam, had no, repeat, no need for fighter-interceptor pilots and had no F-102s in the theater. He was useful where he was flying air defense missions in the USA. Those of us who are veterans can all agree that we rarely, if ever, had a choice of where we would be based or what we would be doing.
Case Closed!
Bill Eikner
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