George W. Bush's National Guard service was an issue in the 2000 presidential campaign and in the 2004 presidential campaign. A controversy centered on questions of how George W. Bush, who would later become the 43rd President of the United States, came to be a member of the Texas Air National Guard, why he lost his flight status, and whether he fulfilled the requirements of his military service contract during the Vietnam War.
Timeline
Bush joined the 147th Fighter Interceptor Group of the Texas Air National Guard on May 27, 1968, during the Vietnam War. He committed to serve until May 26, 1974, with two years on active duty while training to fly and four years on part-time duty. In his 1968 Statement of Intent (undated), he wrote, "I have applied for pilot training with the goal of making flying a lifetime pursuit and I believe I can best accomplish this to my own satisfaction by serving as a member of the Air National Guard as long as possible." In November Bush began flight training at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. In December 1969 he began further training on the F-102 in Houston at the 147th's Combat Crew Training School, soloing in March 1970 and graduating in June, fulfilling his active-duty commitment. He performed Guard duty as an F-102 pilot through April 1972, logging a total of 336 flight hours and was promoted once during his service, to First Lieutenant.
In November 1970, Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian, commander of the 111th Fighter Squadron, recommended that Bush be promoted to First Lieutenant, calling him "a dynamic outstanding young officer" who stood out as "a top notch fighter interceptor pilot." He said that "Lt. Bush's skills far exceed his contemporaries," and that "he is a natural leader whom his contemporaries look to for leadership. Lt. Bush is also a good follower with outstanding disciplinary traits and an impeccable military bearing."
Air National Guard members could volunteer for active duty service with the Air Force in a program called Palace Alert, which deployed F-102 pilots to Europe and Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and Thailand. According to three pilots from Bush's squadron, Bush inquired about this program but was advised by the base commander that he did not have the necessary experience (500 hours) at the time and that the F-102 would soon be retired.
Bush's four-year part-time obligation to serve required him to maintain his immediate readiness to be recalled to active duty in the event of a national emergency. Bush's military records indicate that until May 1972 he fulfilled that obligation. After that, Bush may have failed to meet the attendance requirements established for members of the Air National Guard, and the Air Force requirement for an annual physical examination for pilots.
Acceptance into the National Guard
During the 1968–1974 period, Presidents Johnson and Nixon decided against calling up National Guard units for service in Vietnam. As a result, National Guard service was widely portrayed as a way to avoid combat. The waiting list for the Guard at that time was extremely long, and there have been charges that young men from influential families were improperly moved to the top of the list. A similar accusation was leveled at Dan Quayle, who served in the Indiana National Guard, and was Vice President from 1989 to 1993.
In 1999, Ben Barnes, the former Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives and Lieutenant Governor of Texas, stated under oath that he had called the head of the Texas Air National Guard, Brigadier General James Rose, to recommend Bush for a pilot spot at the request of Bush family friend Sidney Adger. While working as an active fundraiser for John Kerry, Bush's opponent during the 2004 U.S. Presidential campaign, Barnes repeated that he used his political influence to preferentially refer people to the National Guard, including Bush.
Former Texas legislator Jake Johnson has stated that before General Rose died, Rose told him that he had been responsible for Bush's acceptance into the Guard. Both George W. Bush and his father have stated that they did not ask Adger to intercede and were unaware of any action he may have taken. Walter Staudt, the colonel in command of Bush's squadron, has stated that he accepted Bush's application without receiving any outside pressure to do so.
Flight performance and flight status in 1972 and 1973
Final flights
Flight logs released in September 2004 in response to a lawsuit (see below) showed that Bush, who had been flying solo in the F-102A Delta Dagger, an interceptor, for most of his career, flew nine times in T-33 trainers in February and March 1972 — nearly twice as many times as he had flown in T-33s in the prior 18 months. He also used a flight simulator, and was heavily focused on flying by instruments. The logs also show that in March and April 1972, Bush twice needed multiple tries to land the F102 fighter. Although White House officials could not explain the changes in the flight logs in these final flights, Air Force experts explained there could be several explanations for these changes and attempts to come to any conclusion would be speculation.
The final two entries of Bush's official flight logs show him being assigned to work as an instructional pilot in late May 1972 at a Texas Air National Guard base, although he had left for Alabama in mid-May (see next section) and his pay records show he wasn't paid for any work on the two dates of the instructional pilot assignment. Coding on the logs showed these assignments were subsequently deleted from the offical record.
Flight physical
By regulation, National Guard pilots were required to take and pass an annual physical in order to remain in flight status, in the three months prior to a pilot's birthday (in Bush's case, July 6). Bush did not take this mandatory physical examination in mid-1972, thus ending his pilot's career. He did not fly after April 15, 1972.
As a result of his failure to take his physical, his flight status was suspended by his commander on August 1, 1972, confirmed by Col Bobby Hodges on September 5, 1972 and confirmed again by a National Guard Bureau order on September 29, 1972, which meant he no longer was authorized to fly as a pilot.
Although he had taken the physical twice previously by flight surgeons, Bush says that he wanted to wait to take the physical until it could be done by his own private doctor. Regulations require that the physical be performed by an Air Force doctor. Air Force Flight Surgeons were assigned to Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, where Bush purportedly drilled in October and November 1972 and in January 1973. There is no record of his attendance in the 187th Alabama ANG. The Alabama unit’s commanders say they never saw Bush or any paperwork showing he performed drills there. However a January 1973 document references a dental exam that Bush received at the Alabama base.
There is no record of a physical being taken in either 1972 or in 1973, the last two years in which Bush attended drills. According to his released military records, Bush never flew again as a National Guard pilot after April 1972, and was suspended from flying on August 1, 1972..
Drill attendance in 1972 and 1973
During 2004, various people, including Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe, accused Bush of being absent without leave (AWOL) from the National Guard in 1972–73.
White House communications director Dan Bartlett and others, who called the charge election-year propaganda rebutted the charges by noting that Bush was honorably discharged and that there was no AWOL charge against him.
Released military records show that Bush's documented service record through mid-April 1972 (Bush drilled on the 15th and 16th) is without gaps. On May 24, 1972, Bush submitted a form requesting a transfer to the 9921st Air Reserve Squadron in Montgomery, Alabama. The squadron was under the command of Lt. Colonel Reese R. Bricken. Based on his application, he was already in Alabama at work on the Senate campaign of Winton M. Blount, who was a friend of his father. Jimmy Allison was a longtime family friend who helped him get the campaign work.
Irregularities in Bush’s transfer request
On May 26, Bricken, (commander of the 9921st), approved Bush’s application for transfer. Bricken wrote: “You already understand that this is a Training Category G, Pay Group None, Reserve Section MM proposition.” As an obligated Reservist, Bush was in “Training Category A,” which required the 48 periods of inactive duty training, and 15 days of active duty training, and was required to remain in that Training Category. Training Category “G” offered no training at all. According to Air Force regulations (AFM 35-3, paragraph 14-6), being in "Training Category A" meant that "If a member...will be unable to further train with his unit because of an impending change of residence,...he is required to sign a statement that he has been counseled." That counseling included notifying Bush of his obligation to find a new unit with which he could fulfill his training obligations.
Transfer request is rejected and subsequent performance
Throughout this period, Bush
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