Thursday, September 09, 2004

AWOL

Newly unearthed memos state George W. Bush was suspended from flying for the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam war because he failed to meet Guard standards and failed to take his annual flight physical as required.

The suspension came as Bush was trying to arrange a transfer to non-flying status with a unit in Alabama so he could work on a political campaign there.
ABC News article

Failed to meet the Guard standards. Failed to take his required annual physical. But what was more important? Fulfilling the requirements of his military service to the country in time of war, or his future political career?

Here's more on the private memos of Bush's TAG commander that I referred to in my post last night:

A memo written a year later referred to one military official "pushing to sugar coat" Bush's annual evaluation.

"On this date I ordered that 1st Lt. Bush be suspended from flight status due to failure to perform to USAF/TexANG standards and failure to meet annual physical examination ... as ordered," says an Aug. 1, 1972 memo by Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, who is now dead.

..."I can't explain why that wouldn't be in his record, but they were found in Jerry Killian's personal records," White House communications director Dan Bartlett told CBS's "60 Minutes II," which first obtained the memos.

I think we can figure out what that wouldn't be in his record. And the 60 Minutes program noted that at least one of the Jerry Killian private file documents was titled "CYA". Jerry may have been doing what was expected of him politically, but he was also privately detailing it. Not exactly a stupid guy, that Killian.

18 August 1973
Memo to file
Subject: CYA

1. Staudt has obviously pressured Hodges more about Bush. I'm having trouble running interference and doing my job. Harris gave me a message today from Grp regarding Bush's OETR and Staudt is pushing to sugar coat it. Bush wasn't here during rating period and I don't have any feedback from 187th in Alabama. I will not rate. Austin is not happy either.

2. Harris took the call from Grp today. I'll backdate but won't rate. Harris agrees.



AlterNet adds...

Another interesting development has even greater symbolic bearing on the current presidential race, focusing as it does on who will make the better commander-in-chief in the prevention of, and responsiveness to, a surprise attack: "A six-month historical record of his 147th Fighter Interceptor Group, also turned over to the AP on Tuesday, shows some of the training Bush missed with his colleagues during that time... It showed the unit joined a '24-hour active alert mission to safeguard against surprise attack' in the southern United States beginning on Oct. 6, 1972, a mission for which Bush was not present, according to his pay records."

Surprise attack; Bush nowhere to be found. Sound familiar?


....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

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