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.

Drill attendance in 1972 and 1973

During 2004, various people, including Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe, accused Bush of being absent without leave (AWOL) from the National Guard in 1972-73. Initially, these charges were based on gaps in the documentation of Bush's service. As records were released (see separate section, below) during 2004, the accusations were based on actual gaps in service (one exceeding six months) and the number of drills performed.

Related Topics:
Democratic National Committee - AWOL

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White House communications director Dan Bartlett and others, who called the charge election-year propaganda, attempted to rebut the charges by noting that Bush was honorably discharged http://www.usatoday.com/news/bushdocs/2-Discharge.pdf and that there is no known record of an AWOL charge against him. Critics also contend that Bush could have been given an honorable discharge by the National Guard due to his influential father, who at the time was the US Ambassador to the United Nations and had held a number of influential positions, including Chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Related Topics:
White House - Dan Bartlett - US Ambassador to the United Nations - Republican National Committee

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Released military records show that Bush's documented service record through mid-April 1972 (Bush drilled on the 15th and 16th) is without gaps. Then, on May 24, 1972, Bush filled out a form requesting a transfer to the 9921st Air Reserve Squadron in Montgomery, Alabama. According to his application, he was already in Alabama at work on the Senate campaign of Winton M. Blount, who was a friend of his father. Bush was employed by the firm of Allison & Travalan in Montgomery; Jimmy Allison was a longtime family friend. On May 26, Reese H. Bricken, commander of the 9921st, wrote to Bush to tell him that his application had been accepted.

Related Topics:
May 24 - 1972 - 9921st Air Reserve Squadron - Montgomery, Alabama - Winton M. Blount - Jimmy Allison - May 26 - Reese H. Bricken

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On July 21, 1972, the Air Reserve Personnel Center in Denver, the final approval authority, rejected Bush's reassignment request to the 9921st, stating that as "an obliged Reservist" he could only be "assigned to a specific Ready Reserve Position." The ARPC wrote that Bush "is ineligible for assignment to an Air Reserve Squadron." According to Bricken, in an interview with the Boston Globe, We met just one weeknight a month. We were only a postal unit. We had no airplanes. We had no pilots. We had no nothing.. This rejection left Bush obligated to continue his duty with his Texas Air National Guard unit, the 111th at Ellington Air Force Base near Houston, Texas.

Related Topics:
July 21 - 1972 - Air Reserve Personnel Center - Boston Globe - Ellington Air Force Base - Houston, Texas

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From the records, and from statements from Colonel Bricken, it seems clear that Bush did not report for any duty at the 9921st, and no claims to the contrary have been made. Pay sheet summaries and attendance records show no recorded service, and no payments for service, from mid-April until late-October 1972.

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Bush's failure to drill in Alabama during July, August, and September 1972 potentially means that Bush was "Absent Without Leave" for the months in question, and that even if he later "made up" the absences (most were not), he was AWOL at the time. Lawrence Korb, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for President Ronald Reagan, has reviewed the payroll records and concluded that they indicate that Bush did not fulfill his obligations and could have been ordered to active duty as a result. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/09/08/bush_fell_short_on_duty_at_guard/

Related Topics:
Lawrence Korb - Ronald Reagan

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On September 5, 1972, Bush requested permission to "perform equivalent duty" at the 187th Tactical Recon Group in Alabama "for the months of September, October, and November." He quickly received approval to do so, and was told to report to Lt. Col. William Turnipseed, the base commander, for drills on October 7 and 8, and November 4 and 5 (the September drill dates of the unit had already passed). Turnipseed has said that he could not recall whether Bush reported on those occasions. Bush's records do not list any service on those dates, but they do show that he was paid for service on October 28 and 29, a weekend; on November 11 and 12, also a weekend; and November 13 and 14, a Tuesday and Wednesday. The location of the service and the duties performed are not described in any released records.

Related Topics:
September 5 - 1972 - Lt. Col. - William Turnipseed - October 7 - November 4 - October 28 - November 11 - November 13

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In 2004, a man named John "Bill" Calhoun, a former Alabama Air National Guard officer who had served at the Dannelly Air National Guard Base in Montgomery, home of the 187th, claimed he had seen Bush report for duty eight to 10 times between May and October 1972, and that Bush had in fact spent time in his office. His recollection has been questioned due to the fact that Bush did not apply for temporary duty with the 187th until September of that year. It is quite possible, of course, that LTC Calhoun memories of seeing Bush are correct, but that he misremembered the dates (and possibly the number of times he saw Bush).

Related Topics:
John "Bill" Calhoun - Dannelly Air National Guard Base

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A column in the Birmingham News (Alabama) elicited memories from people who remembered Bush when he was in Alabama: "None have specific recollections about Bush and the National Guard. Some heard he was serving but never saw for themselves." Opinions of him during this time ranged from good (amiable, well liked, and fond of sports) to bad (bragging about drinking and allegations he trashed a cottage where he was living). One coworker on the Blount campaign staff, Archibald Blount, a relative of Blount, claimed that Bush was known during this time as the "Texas Souffle", for his supposed character of looking good on the outside but not having much on the inside. Samuel Blount, the candidate's son, who also worked with Bush, said he did not remember such behavior.

Related Topics:
Birmingham News - Archibald Blount - Samuel Blount

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Released records show that Bush was paid for service for the days of January 4-6 and 8-10, 1973, and that he received a dental examination at Dannelly in Alabama on January 6. It is unclear why he stayed - or returned - to Alabama in January, since his campaign job had ended in November (with the defeat of candidate Blount).

Related Topics:
January 4 - January 6

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Between 1972 and 1973, Bush dated Mavanee Bear, another member of Blount's campaign staff. Bear stated "I know he served" because he had to regularly reschedule meetings, but also stated "I didn't see him in uniform." When later back in Texas, she frequently saw him in uniform, stating "I think he was mostly just flying in circles over Houston." http://newyorker.com/printable/?talk/040301ta_talk_mayer.

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Back in Houston, in late 1972 or early 1973, Bush did unpaid volunteer work for a number of months with an inner-city poverty program, Project P.U.L.L. (Professional United Leadership League) the brainchild of the late John White, a former professional football player and civic leader. http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/nation/9990590.htm As for National Guard work, pay records and attendance records show no service in February or March, and two days of paid drilling on April 7-8. The April service presumably occurred at his home base, Ellington Air Force Base, in Houston. However there is nothing in the released documents showing that he actually reported on those days, or where, or what duties he performed.

Related Topics:
John White - April 7 - Ellington Air Force Base

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In a document dated May 2, 1973, Bush's immediate superiors gave him his annual performance review for the period from May 1 1972 to April 30 1973. The review stated that "Lt. Bush has not been observed at this unit during the period of the report." Lt. Col. William D. Harris Jr. and Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian also wrote, "A civilian occupation made it necessary for him to move to Montgomery, Ala. He cleared this base on 15 May 1972 and has been performing equivalent training in a non-flying status with the 187 Tac Recon Gp. Dannelly ANG Base, Alabama." This May 2 statement - that Bush was not around - is extremely puzzling since (a) Bush's campaign job in Alabama had ended in November, (b) by early May, Bush had been working at Project P.U.L.L in Houston for at least four months; (c) five days early, on April 27, order AE-198-TX had been issued by the 147th for Bush to report to Annual Active Duty Training on May 1-3 and May 8-10, at Ellington AFB, and on April 27 that order had been amended (by order AE-212-TX) to correct an error (Bush had been shown "on-fly" status in the original order); (d) Bush was paid for annual active duty on May 1-3, so he presumably was at Ellington AFB, as directed, which is where the annual performance report was prepared; and (e) on May 1, another order (AE-226-TX) was issued that directed Bush to perform additional annual active duty later in May at Ellington AFB, so the unit's administrative staff clearly knew that he was around.

Related Topics:
May 2 - 1973 - May 1 - 1972 - April 30 - William D. Harris Jr. - Jerry B. Killian - 15 May - April 27 - May 8

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For May 1973, Bush was paid for service on 1-3, 8-11, 19-20, 22-24, and 29-31 May. For June, he was paid for 5 days; for July (his last month of drilling) for 19 days. As of the end of July, 1973, he had been in the National Guard for a little over five years.

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