During George W. Bush's 2004 presidential campaign, controversy arose surrounding his service in the Air National Guard in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The controversy specifically surrounded Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard, why he lost his flight status, and whether he fulfilled the requirements of his military service contract.
Timeline George W. 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 to make flying a lifetime pursuit, and I believe I can best accomplish this to my satisfaction by serving as a member of the Air National Guard as long as possible."
Bush was quoted as saying elsewhere "I was not prepared to shoot my eardrum out with a shotgun to get a deferment. Nor was I willing to go to Canada". In his autobiography Bush states that he was willing to serve his country but preferred to do so as a combat pilot rather than "An infantryman wading across a paddy-field".
Following his six weeks of basic training, Bush began 54 weeks of flight training at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. In December 1969, Bush began twenty-one weeks of fighter-interceptor training on the F-102 in Houston at the 147th's Combat Crew Training School, soloing in March 1970 and graduating in June 1970. When he graduated, he had fulfilled his two-year active-duty commitment.
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." Bush was promoted.
Air National Guard members could volunteer for active duty service with the Air Force in a program called Palace Alert. The program deployed F-102 pilots to Europe and Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and Thailand. Six Air National Guard squadrons were deployed to Korea and Vietnam during 1968.c d e f g h i Rosenfield and Gross (2007), Cold Warriors^ "Speed (2006), Forgotten Heroes, US ANG Fighter Squadrons of Vietnam" (PDF). af.mil. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2012. 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 flying experience (500 hours) at the time and that the F-102 would soon be retired, all aircraft of the type withdrawn from Vietnam by the end of 1968.
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 performed part-time Guard duty as an F-102 pilot through April 1972, logging a total of 336 flight hours.
Before April 1972, Bush had fulfilled more than the required hours of service, but with more than two years remaining before his discharge. He volunteered his services on several projects, including a political campaign. After April 1972, Bush may have failed to meet the attendance requirements established for members of the Air National Guard. In mid-1972, he failed to meet the Air Force requirement for an annual physical examination for pilots and lost his authorization to be a pilot. According to Bush's pay records, he did not attend any drills between mid-April and the end of October 1972. He drilled in Alabama in October and November 1972, and again in January 1973; what duties he performed are unknown. Bush returned to his home unit in Houston and was paid for his service in April 1973 through July 1973; again, what duties he performed are not documented in any way.
On October 1, 1973, Bush was honorably discharged from the Texas Air National Guard and transferred to the Air Force Reserve's inactive reserves in Denver, Colorado. He was discharged from the Air Force Reserve on November 21, 1974, ending his military service.
Acceptance into the Air National Guard
During the 1968–1974 period, Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon decided against calling up National Guard units for service in Vietnam. However, military documents show during the Vietnam War, almost 23,000 Army and Air Guardsmen were called up for a year of active duty; some 8,700 were deployed to Vietnam.
In 1999, Ben Barnes, former Democratic Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives and Lieutenant Governor of Texas, gave testimony in a deposition for a lawsuit related to the Texas lottery; and following the deposition, his lawyer issued a statement to the press. According to the statement, Barnes 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. The statement also said, "Neither Congressman Bush nor any other member of the Bush family asked Barnes' help. Barnes has no knowledge that Governor Bush or President Bush knew of Barnes' recommendation." 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.
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.
In applying for pilot training, Bush took a standardized test on which he had a low score, in the 25th percentile. Also, Bush had two arrests for college pranks and four traffic offenses before applying for pilot training. In 2004, former and current military pilots said it was uncommon for an applicant to be accepted into pilot's school with such a record, though there was no specific score that disqualified a candidate.
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 in the F-102A Delta Dagger, a single-seater 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."Bush flew in training planes before losing pilot privileges" , Associated Press, September 11, 2004. The logs also show that on March 12 and April 10 of 1972, Bush took two passes to land his F-102 fighter. Although White House officials could not explain the changes in the flight logs in these final flights, Air Force experts said there could be any of a number of reasons for the change in Bush's flight pattern. Retired Major General Paul A. Weaver, a former head of the Air National Guard, said Bush could have just been practicing landing skills. "It doesn't mean anything to have multiple approaches," Weaver said.
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. The entries were entered even though he had left for Alabama in mid-May (see below) and his pay records show nonpayment for any work on the two dates of the instructional pilot assignment. Coding on the logs showed these assignments were subsequently deleted from the official record.
Flight physical By regulation, all Air Force 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. As a result of his failure to take his physical, his flight status was suspended by his commander on August 1, 1972, confirmed by Colonel 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.
Air National Guard regulations require that "the local commander who has authority to convene a Flying Evaluation Board will direct an investigation as to why the individual failed to accomplish the medical examination." But there are no records of an investigation or of any requests to complete one.
Although flight surgeons did the previous two physicals that Bush had taken, Bush said in 2000 that he wanted to wait to take the examination until his private doctor could do it. But regulations required the physical to be performed by an Air Force doctor. Air Force flight surgeons were assigned to Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, located across town from Maxwell AFB at the Dannelly Field Air National Guard Base at Dannelly Field airport, where Bush was paid for drilling in October and November 1972 and in January 1973, his only drilling dates between April 1972 and April 1973.
According to his released military records, after April 1972 Bush never flew again as an Air National Guard pilot.
Drill attendance in 1972 and 1973 During 2004, Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe and others accused Bush of being absent without leave (AWOL) from the Air National Guard in 1972–73. White House communications director Dan Bartlett and others, who called the charge election-year propaganda, noted that Bush was honorably discharged and that no AWOL charge had ever been made against Bush by the National Guard.
Released military records show that Bush's documented service record through mid-April 1972 (Bush drilled on the 15th and 16th of that month) was without gaps; the period in question is from May 1972 forward.
Transfer request On May 24, 1972, Bush submitted a form requesting a transfer to the 9921st Air Reserve Squadron in Montgomery, Alabama, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Reese R. Bricken. According to the request form, Bush was already in Alabama at work on the Senate campaign of Winton M. Blount, who was a friend of his father. Jimmy Allison, a longtime family friend, helped Bush get the campaign work.
On May 26, Bricken 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 "fA", which required a minimum of 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.
On July 31, the Air Reserve Personnel Center (ARPC) rejected Bush's transfer request, saying that he could not be reassigned to an Air Reserve Squadron because of his obligated service. Bricken, asked about the matter in 2000, said that Bush made no effort to participate as a Guardsman with the 9921st.
Equivalent duty in Alabama