Home > George W. Bush military service controversy
The George W. Bush military service controversy is an ongoing American political controversy regarding U.S. President George W. Bush and the differing contentions about his service with the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. The controversy was discussed in the mass media during the 2000 presidential campaign and again in the 2004 presidential campaign. Prior to his presidential campaigns, opponents of Bush invoked various contentions about his service during his successful Texas Gubernatorial campaigns in 1994 and 1998.1 Background
Bush enlisted in the Texas Air National Guard on May 27, 1968 during the Vietnam War, with a commitment to serve until May 26, 1974. 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." He performed Guard duty as an F-102 pilot through April 1972, logging a total of 336 flight hours [1] and was twice promoted during his service, first to second lieutenant and then to first lieutenant.
In November 1970Events January events January 1 Construction begins on Arcosanti, by Paolo Soleri, in Mayer, Arizona, located 65, miles north of Phoenix, Arizona. January 1 Unix epoch at 00:00:00 UTC. January 12 Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian civil war. January, Lt. Col.In the US Army, US Air Force and US Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a commissioned officer superior to a major and inferior to a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is comparable to the rank of commander in the US Navy. The insignia for all four Jerry B. KillianLieutenant Commander Jerry B. Killian was the commanding officer of future president George W. Bush during the latter's controversial stint in the Texas Air National Guard in the early 1970s. CBS publicized several memos, apparently typewritten by Killian, the commander of the Texas Air National Guard, 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."
2 Acceptance into the National Guard
Prominent American Democraticlogo depicts a stylized donkey in red, white, and blue. The Democratic Party is one of the two major United States political parties. The Party is currently the minority in both the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, as w, liberal, and left-wing political figures--most notably Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe and documentary filmmaker Michael Moore--have questioned whether Bush's father used his political influence to keep him out of the Vietnam War. 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 seen 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 J. Danforth Quayle III, who served in the Indiana National Guard, and was vice-president in 1989-93, when Bush's father was president).
It has been reported that Bush jumped to the top of a list of over 500 applicants for his position as a pilot despite receiving the minimum passing score (25) on the pilot entrance aptitude test and listing no other qualifications. Ben Barnes, the former speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, stated under oath that he had called the head of the Texas Air National Guard, Brig. Gen. James Rose , to recommend Bush for a pilot spot at the request of Bush family friend Sidney Adger [2]. Barnes, now a fund-raiser for John Kerry's campaign in Texas, repeated these claims in an interview with CBS News on Sept. 8, 2004. 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. Yoshi Tsurumi, one of Bush's Harvard professors, claims that Bush told him that his "Dad's friends" got him into the Guard. [3]
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 a 1994 interview, Bush stated that his reason for joining the Guard was a standard one: "I was not prepared to shoot my eardrum out with a shotgun in order to get a deferment. Nor was I willing to go to Canada. So I chose to better myself by learning how to fly airplanes" [4]
The unit in which Bush served was known as a " Champagne unit," where the scions of the Texas aristocracy could avoid combat duty with relatively few demands on their time. Serving in that unit with Bush were the sons of three prominent men: Democratic Governor John Connally, Democratic Senator and future Vice-Presidential nominee Lloyd Bentsen, and Republican Senator John Tower, as well as seven members of the Dallas Cowboys professional football club, and a man named James R. Bath, who would become a longtime friend of Bush's.
Air National Guard members could volunteer for Vietnam service. 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 program was winding down and not accepting more volunteers.[5]
