SwiftVets.com

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CBS NEWS got President Bush’s service wrong (at the very least)

George W. Bush applied to join the Texas Air National Guard on May 27, 1968 for a six year term.

Pilots from the 147th FIG of the Texas Air National Guard were routinely rotated to Vietnam for combat duty under a program called ''Palace Alert'' from 1968 to 1970. Palace Alert was an Air Force program that sent qualified F-102 pilots from the Air National Guard to bases in Europe or Vietnam for periods of three to six months for frontline duty. Fred Bradley, a friend of Bush's who was also serving in the Texas Air National Guard, reported that he and Bush inquired about participating in the Palace Alert program. However, the two were told by a superior, MAJ Maurice Udell, that they were not yet qualified since they were still in training and did not have the 500 hours of flight experience required.

Bush completed two years of pilot training in June 1970. Bush flew the F-102 fighter jet. In Bush's evaluation for the period May 1, 1971 through April 30, 1972, then-Colonel Bobby Hodges, his commanding officer, stated, "I have personally observed his participation, and without exception, his performance has been noteworthy."

After Bush had flown the F-102 for four years, Sometime around April ? May 1972, he was asked to join the Alabama U.S. Senate campaign of Winton Blount, an old family friend, in Alabama. Bush requested assignment to duty in Montgomery, Ala.

The records show that Bush's superiors were not only happy with his performance from 1968 to 1972, but also happy with his decision to go to Alabama. Bush's evaluating officer wrote in May 1972 that "Lt. Bush is very active in civic affairs in the community and manifests a deep interest in the operation of our government. He has recently accepted the position as campaign manager for a candidate for United States Senate. He is a good representative of the military and Air National Guard in the business world."

Bush was issued orders to report to Dannelly Air Force Base in Montgomery home of the 187th. It was noted in his orders that Bush would not be able to satisfy his flight requirements with the 187th, since the 187th did not fly F-102s. Bush knew when he left Texas that he would no longer be able to maintain his flight and training hours at his new station, which meant that he would essentially leave flying, at least for some substantial period of time. In addition, the 187th could not accommodate another pilot, at least regularly. Lt. Col. Turnipseed. "We didn't have enough airplanes or sorties to handle our own pilots, so we wouldn't have done it for some guy passing through.

The president's critics have charged that he did not show up for service. They make the claim that he was "AWOL" in Alabama. Records and eye witnesses prove that Bush did in fact serve in Alabama. Bush was paid and given retirement credit for days of service while he was known to be in Alabama. The records also show that Bush received a dental examination on January 6, 1973, at Dannelly Air National Guard base, by Montgomery dentist J. Andrew Harris, who was a captain with the 187th at the time. Alabama Air National Guard officer Lt. Col. John "Bill" Calhoun (retired) says ?I saw him each drill period. He was very aggressive about doing his duty there. He never complained about it. ... He was very dedicated to what he was doing in the Guard?. Retired Master Sgt. James Copeland remembers meeting Bush on two occasions. On one occasion, Copeland said, Bush and Lt. Col. John "Bill" Calhoun came to Copeland's office with a question about Bush's pay. The other time Copeland remembers meeting Bush was at the base canteen. Bush was there drinking coffee or a soft drink. Joe Holcombe, worked with Bush on the Blount campaign. He remembers Bush missing at least one campaign meeting because of his National Guard drills. Holcombe said he also remembers Bush returning to Montgomery for National Guard duty after the campaign ended. Jean Sullivan who volunteered with Bush on the Blount campaign says she saw Bush in uniform on his way to drills several times in 1972..

On or around his 27th birthday, July 6, 1972, Bush did not take his required annual medical exam at his Texas unit. As a consequence, he was suspended from flying military jets. Bush's commanding officer in Texas said . "His flying status was suspended because he didn't take the exam, not because he couldn't pass".

On May 2, 1973, Bush's squadron leader in the 147th, Lieutenant Colonel William Harris, Jr. wrote: "Lt. Bush has not been observed at this unit" for the past year. Harris correctly assumed that Bush had been reporting for duty in Alabama all along. He wrote that Bush "has been performing equivalent training in a non-flying status with the 187 Tac Recon Gp, Dannelly ANG Base, Alabama.

Records show that Bush reported for duty on nine occasions between November 29, 1972- and May 24, 1973. Bush still wasn't flying, but over this span, he did earn nine points of National Guard service from days of active duty and 32 from inactive duty. When added to the 15 "gratuitous" points that every member of the Guard got per year, Bush accumulated 56 points, more than the 50 that he needed by the end of May 1973 to maintain his standing as a Guardsman.

On May 1, Bush was ordered to report for further active duty training, and documents show that he proceeded to cram in another 10 sessions over the next two months. Ultimately, he racked up 19 active duty points of service and 16 inactive duty points by July 30-which, added to his 15 gratuitous points, achieved the requisite total of 50 for the year ending in May 1974.

On October 1, 1973, First Lieutenant George W. Bush received an early honorable discharge so that he could attend Harvard Business School. He was credited with five years, four months and five days of service toward his six-year service obligation.

Bush was not required to perform any duty after his discharge. His duty requirements were complete.

I urge CBS to find out who provided them with the forged documents and prosecute them if possible, In addition, I urge CBS to apologize to George Bush for the inaccuracies in their story.

Peter Bartow
Miami Florida.