Posted on 09/07/2004 4:46:21 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
AP: Lawsuit Gets Bush Guard Papers Out
2 minutes ago
By MATT KELLEY, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) was ranked in the middle of his Air National Guard class and flew more than 336 hours in a fighter jet before letting his pilot status lapse and missing a key readiness drill, according to his flight records belatedly uncovered Tuesday under the Freedom of Information Act.
The Pentagon (news - web sites) and Bush's campaign have claimed for months that all records detailing his fighter pilot career have been made public, but defense officials said they found two dozen new records detailing his training and flight logs after The Associated Press filed a lawsuit and crafted new requests under the public records law.
"Previous requests from other requesters for President Bush's Individual Flight Records did not lead to the discovery of these records because at the time President Bush left the service, flight records were subject to retention for only 24 months and we understood that neither the Air Force nor the Texas Air National Guard retained such records thereafter," the Pentagon told the AP.
"Out of an abundance of caution," the government "searched a file that had been preserved in spite of this policy" and found the Bush records, the letter said. "The Department of Defense (news - web sites) regrets this oversight during the previous search efforts."
The records show Bush, a lieutenant in the Texas Air National Guard, was ranked No. 22 in a class of 53 pilots when he finished his flight training at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia in 1969.
Over the next three years, he logged 326.4 hours as a pilot and an additional 9.9 hours as a co-pilot, mostly in his the F-102a jet used to intercept
(Excerpt) Read more at story.news.yahoo.com ...
No mention of the fact that the model of plane he was qualified to fly had been retired, making a readiness drill unnecessary since there was no plane for him to fly.
He evidently improved as an F102 pilot:
from his fitness reviews:
"Lieutenant Bush is an outstanding young pilot and officer and is a credit to his unit," Lt. Col. Bobby Hodges wrote on May 27, 1971. "This officer is rated in the upper 10 percent of his contemporaries."
Another, written by Maj. William Harris on May 26, 1972, was just as glowing: "Lieutenant Bush is an exceptional fighter interceptor pilot and officer."
Does anybody give a merry rip about Kerry's records? Guess not. Silly question. Go back to sleep.
Hmmmm... sounds like the President was a better pilot than I was, and that he put in a fair number of flying hours per quarter while he was an active pilot. Seems like this ought to close the case of whether he served honorably.
Now, AP: please, we need your assistance with something of import. Use your influence, and have
Sen.Kerry - Please sign Standard Form 180 so we can get this whole issue behind us.
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As a graduate of a lot of military schools I can shed some further light on this. One of the things that we know about Bush is that he is good at figuring out the things he needs to know and ignoring stuff he doesn't need to know. Look at the things he did well in, flying, T-38 systems, aerodynamics and aviation psychology, which are things that a pilot needs to know to fly the airplane. Some parts of flight planning is important stuff about getting around, but a lot of it, something military courses often over emphasize, is how to fill in the paperwork.
A lot of the kinds of questions you get on military tests are thinks like identify the mark and mod number of the turbine or some technical name for the type of blades in the compressor or the names of the gears driving the power unit. A lot of what you have to regurgitate on test are of no practical application to flying the airplane.
Where are Kerry's records????
I share your fears, but funny thing about information. It ALWAYS gets out, no matter what the laws say. And I think we are reaching the point where the average person is starting to develop a loathing for the mainstream news, and whatever they say, Joe Public says, "I'm with the other guy."
"Significantly, it showed the unit joined a "24-hour active alert mission to safeguard against surprise attack" in the southern United State beginning on Oct. 6, 1972, a time when Bush did not report for duty, according to his pay records..."
AP STRIKES AGAIN!!!!!
The 111 FIS WAS assigned on 24/7 active duty alert (air defense command) during MOST OF THE TIME Bush FLEW THERE!!!The 111 FIS transitioned to a training mission in about 1971. The AP writer goes to great efforts (and is inaccurate in his statement) in attempt to make it look like Bush bailed out when the unit mission got demanding.
SHEESH!!!!!! Tom Hays, AP reporter and newsmaker (literally)- is that YOu again?????
The AP digging dirt is just another confirmation for me that the Swifties are dead-on.
Otherwise, why would they bother other than the fact that their candidate is well on his way to being dead in the water.
"Over the next three years, he logged 326.4 hours as a pilot and an additional 9.9 hours as a co-pilot, mostly in his the F-102a jet used to intercept..."
Let's do the math. Total hours in the air 336.3. Length of a guard drill period 4 hours. The flight time alone counts for 84 drills. In a three year period, there are 96 drills days. Of course, there are pre-flight hours and post-flight hours not recorded in the log books but would count for drill time. I'm no flight expert but I would imagine one hour of pre and post flight per hour of flight would be conservative. Total creditable days, 168. Now, Bush would also be required to serve 42 days of annual training. Total days of training 138. Looks to me like Bush pretty much fulfilled his commitment.
Years after you and I log off FR for that great forum in the sky, my dear. :-)
bttt
Bush didn't sign the DD-180.
Wrong: President Bush was also in Undergraduate Pilot Training for 12 months, and Upgrade Pilot Training to the F102 plus survival training for another 3-6 months. Only then, was he qualified to fly F102s.
At that time, about 50% of those who started pilot training completed it.
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Sorry, slight correction, in three years there are 144 drill periods, not 96. Still the numbers pretty well add up. 186 days required versus 184 served, pretty close.
Also, these calculations don't include mandatory classes or other training besided flying that could add significantly to the training time performed.
Since O'Reilly prides himself on being fair and balanced, I challenged him to file a lawsuit to release Kerry's records.
It's just like the Florida re-re-re-re-recounts........that's another horse they beat to death and some partisan malcontents are still griping.
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