President Bush at the Youth Activities Center, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, March 2001.
Shaking hands with troops at Tyndall Air Force Base.
Descending the steps of the National Defense University before his speech about the national defense shield, May 2001.
Members of the Air Force Academy football team take pictures of President Bush after he gave the team the Commander-in-Chief Trophy at the White House, May 2001. [Remember this happy pre-9/11 photo when viewing the somber one in the 2002 group. Same event. Same service academy football team. Different world.]
On May 18, 2001, President Bush met in the Oval Office with the crew of the EP-3E Naval aircraft that was forced down by China in April 2001. The President shook hands with and thanked each of the 24 crew members. The crew was also recognized by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in a ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. Navy Lt. Shane Osborn, pilot of the EP-3E aircraft, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Osborn and Senior Chief Nicholas Mellos, the senior enlisted man on the crew, received the Meritorious Service Medal. Mellos and the other crew members also received the Air Medal.
