Bush and I were Lieutenants

The Washington Times ^ | Feb. 11, 2004 | Col. William Campenni

[PokeyJoe]

George Bush and I were lieutenants and pilots in the 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS), Texas Air National Guard (ANG) from 1970 to 1971. We had the same flight and squadron commanders (Maj. William Harris and Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, both now deceased). While we were not part of the same social circle outside the base, we were in the same fraternity of fighter pilots, and proudly wore the same squadron patch.

[bad company]

A pilot program using ANG volunteer pilots in F-102s (called Palace Alert) was scrapped quickly after the airplane proved to be unsuitable to the war effort. Ironically, Lt. Bush did inquire about this program but was advised by an ANG supervisor (Maj. Maurice Udell, retired) that he did not have the desired experience (500 hours) at the time and that the program was winding down and not accepting more volunteers.

This is the second time today I've seen it mentioned that GWB tried to go to Vietnam. I hope it's documented somehow.

[rocklobster11]

Factoid	President Bush	Kerry
Service	Texas Air National Guard	US Naval Reserves
Dates	May 1968 - September 1973	Feb 1966 - Jan 1970
Activities	Pilot of F-102 Fighter Jets for 4 years	Commander of Swift Boat for 4 months
Honorable Discharged	Yes	Yes
Released from Service 6 months early	Yes	Yes
Completed All Requirements Prior to Early Discharge	Yes	No
Admitted to War Crimes	No	Yes
Called Other Veterans War Criminals	No	Yes
Met with North Vietnamese and Viet Cong in Paris to Negotiate American surrender	No	Yes
Joined Group that contemplated Assasination of US Senators	No	Yes
Threw Away His Medals	No	Yes
Didn't Throw Away His Medals Before He Threw Away His Medals	No	???
Claims He is a War Hero in Every Speech He Gives	No	Yes
Repeatedly Brings Up His Vietnam Service	No	Yes
Praises His Opponents Vietnam Service	Yes	No
Supported By Most of the Officers Who Served With Him and Supervised Him	Yes	No
Signed Form 180 and released all service records	Yes	No
Wants US Military to be used only with United Nations Approval	No	Yes
Experiense as Commander in Chief	4 Years	NO

[HawaiianGecko]

I doubt it is documented. It reads that he inquired about it and was told he was ineligible. Who would document that?

[HawaiianGecko]

By the way, I like your chart. Mind if I fly it around the country in an email?

[The KG9 Kid]

"... There's something about being dead that turns people into partisan Democrat Operatives."

Indeed. Why, if Abraham Lincoln were alive today, he'd tell George W. Bush [insert lefty pet kookism here].

[Terp]

Can you say retired Colonel David Hackworth?

[TigersEye]

Some have said that Karl Rove set them up, which may be plausible, ...

I don't think that is plausible in the least and I'll tell you why. It means that Bush/Rove put out a very damaging hit piece on themselves, which was deliberately forged, in the hopes that CBS would not spot the forgery and publish it. The Kerry campaign and the DNC saw it before CBS is so they had to hope they wouldn't spot it either.

But what if CBS had spotted it, realized that Rove was scamming them, and decided to recreate them in a believable form? What could Rove do then? He couldn't say "Here is what I gave CBS. See, it's an obvious fake and CBS must have copied it with an old typewriter. It was our dirty trick and they're making it theirs."

It's a great plot for a Saturday morning cartoon but no one would set a trap with bad news about themselves. Not when they've weathered this bogus charge time and time again.

[nopardons]

bttt

[TigersEye]

My dead grandfather from Chicago has been voting for Democrats ever since his death.

Did he vote Republican before his death or is he being consistent?

[BIGLOOK]

Excellent comparison and summary; hopefully Kerry will be summarily excused from any further service on Nov. 2, 2004.

[VisualizeSmallerGovernment]

I don't think so. His grandfather was an Elector for John Fremont in the 1856 Election.

[Freee-dame]

bump

[Kryptonite]

Eggsellent!

[rocklobster11]

By the way, I like your chart. Mind if I fly it around the country in an email?

send it to everyone

[BIGLOOK]

Calpernia, I admire you! You deserve the title NUTCRACKER IN CHIEF.

Looking forward to reading your posts.

[AmericanVictory]

I thought Campenni was excellent in his appearances on cable. His demeanor as a credible witness is superb and in a court room, before a jury, he would be believed and could stand up to cross. It was interesting how his knowledge of the way that the Air Guard actually functioned was beyond the ken of the liberals on these shows. They displayed not only arrogance but an astonishing ignorance apparently driven by their loathing of the U.S. military and their hatred of American Victory in anything.

[Calpernia]

Nutcracker it is :)

[woofie]

This is a must read

[A.A. Cunningham]

Bush Lieutenants

[patriciamary]

Carl Rove would not take that kind of risk