[Wolfstar]

This weekend's theme: GWB and our Armed Forces, a love affair

President George Walker Bush had a close relationship with our military even before being elected in 2000. The selected photos are a trip down memory lane (in chronological sequence) from the beginning of his presidency in 2001 through 2002.

2001

Lunch with troops at Ft. Stewart, Savannah, Georgia, February 12, 2001.

Inspecting the troops at Ft. Stewart.

Speaking to sailors and other members of the military at NATO ACLANT headquarters, Norfolk (Virginia) Naval Air Station, February 13, 2001. President Bush visited several military bases that week to reaffirm his commitment to improve living conditions for the people who serve in America's Armed Forces.

President Bush shares a laugh with, from left, West Virginia Governor Robert Wise, Colonel Bill Raney (President of the Army National Guard), Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and Lieutenant Colonel Chester Carter of the Army National Guard during a visit to the West Virginia National Guard Headquarters in Charleston, February 14, 2001.

[Wolfstar]

Former First Lady Nancy Reagan christens the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan as President Bush and Newport News Shipbuilding CEO William Frick look on. Newport News, Virginia, March 5, 2001.

Slipping in an update on the Reagan: Onboard USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), June 1, 2005. An RTM-116A Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) is fired from the Reagan against a BQM-34S aerial drone during a live weapons fire exercise. It was the first test of this weapons system onboard the Reagan. The Nimitz-class nuclear powered aircraft carrier was conducting Combat System Ship’s Qualifications Trials (CSSQT). (Official U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Aaron Burden. For more photos and other info on the Reagan, click the link provided with the christening photo above.)