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. In 1998, Harriet Miers, then the president of a prominent Dallas law firm, and Bush's personal attorney, was paid $19,000 by the Bush gubernatorial re-election campaign to examine rumors questioning Bush's service in the National Guard.

Acceptance into the National Guard

Prominent American liberal 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).

Related Topics:
Liberal - Democratic Party - Terry McAuliffe - Filmmaker - Michael Moore - Johnson - Nixon - J. Danforth Quayle III

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According to some news reports, 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. Other reports indicated that although there were many candidates interested in weekend enlisted duty, there were fewer, if any, people who were both sufficiently educated to qualify for an officer pilot position and willing to commit to the more than one year of full-time service required of Air National Guard pilots. http://www.dailyhowler.com/h071499_1.shtml Ben Barnes, the former Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives and Lieutenant Governor of Texas, 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 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19990927/aponline190140_000.htm. Later, Barnes repeated these claims in a speech to his fellow Kerry supporters in Texas and in an interview with CBS News on 8 September 2004. Shortly after, Barnes' daughter Amy publicly challenged the credibility of her father's story.

Related Topics:
Ben Barnes - Texas House of Representatives - Lieutenant Governor - Texas Air National Guard - Brig. Gen. - James Rose - Sidney Adger - 8 September - 2004

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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. http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/09/13/bush.professor/

Related Topics:
Jake Johnson - Yoshi Tsurumi - Harvard

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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" http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-pe.draft15feb15,0,1960525.story

Related Topics:
Walter Staudt - Colonel

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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.

Related Topics:
Champagne unit - John Connally - Lloyd Bentsen - John Tower - Dallas Cowboys - James R. Bath

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Air National Guard members could volunteer for active duty service with the Air Force in a program called Palace Alert, which deployed F-102 pilots to Europe and Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and Thailand. According to three pilots from Bush's squadron, Bush inquired about this program well after all F-102s had been withdrawn from Southeast Asia, and 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.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4271922/

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