Posted on 09/11/2004 1:19:20 PM PDT by commonguymd
Sep 11, 1:47 PM (ET)
By ELLIOTT MINOR
ALBANY, Ga. (AP) - Frank Jones says he's angry about newly revealed memos that indicate President Bush got preferential treatment in the Air National Guard during the Vietnam war, but he's not surprised by favoritism in the Guard.
Jones, a Republican from Troy, N.Y., served in Vietnam in 1970 and 1971 before doing 16 years in the Guard himself. As the presidential election nears, Jones says controversy over both candidates' military records and the mounting death toll in Iraq are important issues.
"I'm really in neither camp at this point," he said. "However, I do see a direct correlation to Vietnam. The body count is really starting to get to me."
Some current and retired members of the National Guard and other military services say the newly revealed Bush documents do not bother them, while others say they are troubling.
The documents, which became fodder for Democratic critics last week, indicate Bush was suspended from flying with his Texas Air National Guard unit because he missed a medical exam and that he missed six months of training. Questions have been raised about the documents' authenticity.
Lt. Col. Jim Driscoll, spokesman for the Georgia Army National Guard, said retired service members may comment on political issues such as the Bush documents, but most current reservists and active-duty service members will hesitate to voice their political opinions.
"It would be inappropriate," he said. "The president is our commander-in-chief and so we have to be very careful from an ethical perspective of how we express our political opinions."
Some who served in the National Guard say it is common practice to miss drills - even up to six months - because of job conflicts, family problems or illness.
Ralph Bradley, 56, a Republican from Albany who served three years in Vietnam in the Air Force and 17 years in the Georgia Army National Guard, said members are encouraged to make up drills so they don't lose pay or retirement benefits.
"There's all kinds of situations ... that cause a person to go out of state for a period of time," he said.
Army Reserve Sgt. Tim Wilding, 37, of Jefferson City, Mo., agreed.
Back home for two weeks of leave from Iraq, Wilding said he remains a staunch Bush supporter despite allegations Bush may have tried to get out of Guard drills for several months in 1972.
"A lot of guys don't serve for four or five months at a time," he said. "They've got other stuff going on. They'll make it up later on, or they just won't get paid. That's really no big deal to a lot of National Guard soldiers."
Allegations of suspect conduct during the Vietnam war also have been leveled at John Kerry, who won three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star in Vietnam.
A group sponsoring television ads challenging his wartime record contends Kerry's own gunfire caused the wound that brought his first Purple Heart. Navy records and other veterans do not support the charge.
Ahmad Majied of Albany says the latest allegations about Bush's military record are more troubling to him than allegations about service honors leveled at Democratic challenger Kerry.
Majied, a Democrat from Albany who served 30 years in the Navy, including five years as a SEAL in Vietnam, said the memos support his belief that Bush was a "playboy" during his service years.
"He had enough money to get what he wanted," Majied said. "I think his main concern was not to go to Southeast Asia. I bet he never dreamed it would come back to haunt him."
Neal Eubanks of Leesburg, who served 39 years in the military - 23 in the Air Force and 16 in the Georgia Army National Guard - said the presidential candidates should move beyond their military records and focus on the issues, such as the economy and unemployment.
"You don't see Korean veterans or World War II veterans or Grenada veterans always talking about 'I served here and I served there,'" said Eubanks, 67, a Bush supporter.
Associated Press in Atlanta, Georgia: 1-404-522-8971.
AP in New York: sports is 1-212-621-1630 or 1-800-622-1630, and ask for national news desk.
Washington: 1-202-776-9400 - don't know if that's sports or nbews.
CALL THEM, CALL THEM, CALL THEM. It's a story based on a false premise. I called Atlanta and New York, and they knew they couldn;t even defend this bizarre story.
.....sorry I don't know how to start a new thread asking people to call these lying factories and posting their phone numbers. Somebody, please do....Also, PLEASE call your local newspapers and tell them that they will be running a story based on lies if they do run it....AND THAT WE ALL ARE WATCHING AND EDUCATING PEOPLE ABOUT THE MEDIA LIES...
". . .the war in Vietnam was nearing its end and the US was withdrawing its forces from the theater. Air Force personnel returning to the US created a glut of active-duty pilots, and there were not enough aircraft available to accommodate all of the qualified USAF and ANG pilots. Since USAF personnel had priority for the billets available, many of the Air National Guard pilots whose enlistments were nearly complete requested early release. The ANG was eager to fulfill these requests because there was not enough time to retrain F-102 pilots to operate new aircraft before their enlistments were up anyway. Bush was one of those forced out by the transition, and he was honorably discharged as a first lieutenant in October 1973, eight months before his six-year enlistment was complete. Bush had approximately 600 flight hours by the time he completed his military service. In the fall of 1973, Bush began coursework at the Harvard Business School where he received an MBA in 1975. . ."
"Many of the Air National Guard pilots whose enlistments were nearly complete requested early release."
If they could do the minimal required of real journalists the Rat "journalists" would headline, "Many ANG pilots deserted!"
"not enough aircraft available to accommodate all of the qualified USAF and ANG pilots. . .[and] not enough time to retrain F-102 pilots to operate new aircraft before their enlistments were up anyway. Bush was one of those forced out by the transition"
Rat "journalists" know nothing of the U.S. military beyond feeeeeeeeeeeling our military is the greatest threat to world peace.
When you talk to Mr. Hurley you might want to relate to him the following: I was sitting in Legal Seafood restaurant in Harvard Square (People's Republic of Cambridge) and overheard the conversation at the next table. Four people in this center of intellectual-liberal thought were carrying on loudly about how sick and tired they were of the mainstream media and how they don't believe a word they hear on tv or read in the newspapers. These people were not conservatives. They were young and judging from the rest of their conversation probably Democrats. Now if young liberals are getting sick of the media - it's bad!
Can someone check to see if Ahmad Majied was a Seal or if he stole some valor?
Why not ask Guardsmen what they think of the continual attacks by Kerry and the Dems about National Guard service being equivalent to draft-dodging? That would make a much better story than asking them to comment on forged documents as if they're real.
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