Bush and the Air National Guard
Posted by Moonage on 17 Sep 2004 | Tagged as: 2004 Presidential Election
An AWFUL lot has been made of Bush receiving preferential treatment while in the Air National Guard. Dan Rather and the rest of major media hasn’t done much in the way of exploring exactly what was expected of Bush during the time in question and whether those expectations were met or not. The fact he was honorably discharged never seems to mean much to anyone. However, Byron York of The Hill did exactly that.
The future president joined the Guard in May 1968. Almost immediately, he began an extended period of training. Six weeks of basic training. Fifty-three weeks of flight training. Twenty-one weeks of fighter-interceptor training.
That was 80 weeks to begin with, and there were other training periods thrown in as well. It was full-time work. By the time it was over, Bush had served nearly two years.
Not two years of weekends. Two years.
According to records released earlier this year, Bush earned 253 points in his first year, May 1968 to May 1969 (since he joined in May 1968, his service thereafter was measured on a May-to-May basis).
Bush earned 340 points in 1969-1970. He earned 137 points in 1970-1971. And he earned 112 points in 1971-1972. The numbers indicate that in his first four years, Bush not only showed up, he showed up a lot. Did you know that?
By that point Bush had more than enough time in to meet all his obligations to the Air National Guard. He requested time off and received it. There was no need for any political pressure.
In 1972, there was an enormous glut of pilots, Campenni says. The Vietnam War was winding down, and the Air Force was putting pilots in desk jobs. In ’72 or ’73, if you were a pilot, active or Guard, and you had an obligation and wanted to get out, no problem. In fact, you were helping them solve their problem.
Come on Dan Rather and Terry McAuliffe, why don’t you guys talk about this?
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