SwiftVets.com

[AZVet61]

The following was sent to me by a friend who prefers that his name not be used. He is a retired USAF pilot currently teaching at a state university:

"Having been a pilot member of the Air National Guard during the entire period of President Bush's ANG service, and Squadron commander somewhat later, I have a few comments.

1. There have always been plenty of pilots to conduct the missions of the ANG, in every state. ANG units are state units, not federal units, although there is a federal National Guard Bureau. In the post Vietnam years, there indeed was a surplus of qualified Air Force and Navy pilots who were being given non-flying assignments while on active duty, and many of those pilots tried to find ANG slots. Historically, there are as many as 50 applicants for every ANG pilot slot that needs to be filled. Therefore, due to the surplus of applicants, there is no need to keep pilots who do not participate in any ANG unit. The state Air National Guard units almost never speak in terms of "AWOL" and "desertion." That's active duty language, and extreme even for the active duty military.

2. The "minimum" participation for Guard pilots was, and still is:

24 days, or 48 unit training assemblies (Sometimes called 'weekend drills' or just drills, or Unit Training Assemblies (UTA's)). These training assemblies are often missed, and made up either before or after, by flight crew members. Each 4-hour UTA training period earns the Guardsman one day's pay. UTA's absences are excused due to conflict with civilian jobs, family functions, or ANG duties that keep a member away from home base during the weekends of training. When missed UTA's are excused, the individual member must still make up missed mandatory training. If makeups occur outside the normal pay period, the member must make up the missed training on his/her own time. Those non-paid training periods would not appear in the member's records.

14 days of what are often called "summer camp," or "field training." During these periods, the individual is placed on active duty (either state or federal) to conduct the training or assigned missions. Each day of UTA earns the Guardsman one day's pay.

36 "additional flying training periods." These AFTP's consist of a minimum consecutive 4 hour period during which the individual performs an actual takeoff or landing in either an airplane assigned to the unit, or conducts simulator training for the aircraft assigned to the unit. Considering the requiremnts of flight planning and briefing, actual flying, and debriefing, it is difficult to complete the requirements for an AFTP in less than 4 hours. Many AFTP's last much longer than 4 hours, some as much as 24 hours. A maximum of two AFTP's per calendar day are allowed by regulations, but most units will only authorize one AFTP per day, to avoid any appearance of "padding" records to increase an individual's pay for what is only one day's training. Each AFTP earns one day's pay.

Thus, the minimum requirement for a pilot in the ANG is 98 training periods each year. Training periods are accounted for each fiscal year, although individual records are accounted for the year beginning with the individual's anniversary for joining the unit. The minimum number of training periods could conceivably be accomplished in 54 calendar days, but because most units allow only one AFTP per day, due to local policy, the minimum is usually 72 calendar days. Most flight crew members do much more than the minimum, year after year.

3. I have never heard the term "AWOL" applied in the context of discussion concerning an ANG flight crew member. The performance of the mission is very flexible and allows individuals and the unit to adjust their schedules for anomalies. Infrequently, members are unable to participate at the minimum level, due to conflicts between Guard duties and job or family requirements. Arrangements are made during those periods, which protect the Guard unit's ability to continue to perform its assign mission. This is in the best interests of the ANG unit and the member. Pilots who do not make such arrangements do not remain in the unit.

4. In the late 60's and early 70's, the primary mission of the ANG continued to be training. The ANG was considered to be "backup" for active duty air mission requirements. An individual could easily hold a civilian full-time position, or run a business, and still be a successful Guard crew member. The training mission allowed much more flexibility in individual participation than can be allowed today, or could ever be allowed on active duty. Family and job responsibilities were considered primary in priority, and Guard responsibilities secondary.

Of course, it's different now. Almost every pilot is totally dependent on the Guard for income. There is much less flexibility, and pilots are expected to be continuously available for mission assignment. But, it wasn't like that in the 60's and early 70's.

5. Guard officers were allowed to participate in "partisan" political activities, although any such activities that identified the person as a Guard member were discouraged, and efforts were made to maintain a separation between the Guard and individual politics. This would account for a unit allowing a member to be away from his home unit and not maintaining proficiency while that person was actively involved in politics.

6. George Bush was much more than a minimum participator for some four years, and then, due to his political activity, slowed down in his Guard activities. If his unit had thought it needed to do so, they could have simply placed him on active duty to complete his military obligation. They must have thought he was doing his job well enough to skip that option. The use of the terms "deserted" and "AWOL" are grossly misrepresentative, in regard to Bush's ANG tour.

7. An official letter written by a commander and placed in an individual's record, such as the one purported to have been written by Bush's commander, would have surely ended the individual's military career, as he/she would thereafter be unpromotable. Guardsmen live with some prejudice against them in the competition for promotions, which must be federally recognized by the Air Force promotion board. Before any such letter would be placed in the records, everyone above the squadron commander would be consulted, and the case would be thoroughly discussed and approved. Many superiors would be quite aware of the action, and it would be unusual enough that I can hardly conceive of all of the other officers somehow forgetting the incident, as apparently happened with George Bush, if the "leaked" letter is genuine.

8. This whole thing about Bush's ANG participation is a sordid attempt to take attention away from Kerry's military actions and subsequent activities related to Vietnam. Considering the questionable nature of the "records" Kerry has produced to support himself, the authenticity of the "commanders letter" regarding Bush, "uncovered" by Kerry supporters, is in question. Kerry is a fraud, and he is trying to cover up his lying by loudly pointing toward his opponent."