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.

Six-year service obligation

On May 27 1968, Bush signed a six year obligation to complete "48 scheduled inactive-duty training periods" each fiscal year (typically consisting of four four-hour periods during one weekend each month), plus a minimum of 15 days of Annual Active Duty Training (for Bush, as a pilot, typically split into periods of duty of a few days each during the year).

Related Topics:
May 27 - 1968

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Some critics have claimed (1) that disciplinary action should have been taken against Bush for his failure to meet his service obligation during 1972 and 1973, because he missed so many drills, and that (2) Bush should not have been released from the Texas National Guard in October 1973 because he had not fulfilled his six-year obligation. Defenders of President Bush have countered that he was honorably discharged, which normally would not happen if he had not satisfactorily completed his service.

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In early 2004, at the request of the White House, retired Texas Air National Guard Lieutenant Colonel Albert Lloyd reviewed Bush's payroll records and stated that Bush earned 253 points for service done during his 1968-69 retirement year (May 27 through May 26 of the following year), 340 points for 1969-70, 137 points for 1970-71, 112 points for 1971-72, 56 points for 1972-73, and 56 points for 1973-74. National Guard members needed at least 50 points for a given year for a satisfactory retirement year. The memorandum from Lloyd concluded 'This clearly shows that 1LT George Bush has satisfactory years for both 72-73 and 73-74 which proves that he completed his military obligation in a satisfactory manner."

Related Topics:
May 27 - May 26

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Missed drills during 1972 and 1973

With regard to drill attendance, there are two major problems with Lloyd's conclusions, other than that the records actually show that the points for 1973-74 should, by his methodology, total 50, not 56. (Lloyd has acknowledged this error.) The first, and lesser, is that Lloyd's gave 15 points to Bush for his membership in the National Guard during his 1973-74 retirement year (in National Guard terminology, these are called gratuitous points). 15 points is what a National Guard member would get for a full year of service . But because Bush went to inactive status as of October 1 1973, he was entitled to only 5 gratuitous points (for the period of May 27 to September 30), not 15 points (for an entire 12 months).

Related Topics:
October 1 - 1973 - May 27 - September 30

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The second problem is more serious. The '50 point' standard is used to determine whether or not a particular service year (as noted above, May 27 through the following May 26) is counted as a "good year" for military retirement benefits. The more appropriate measure of whether Bush met his obligations is the attendance requirements, which, for the National Guard, are on a fiscal year (July 1 through the following June 30).

Related Topics:
May 27 - May 26 - July 1 - June 30

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Regulations allowed commanders to excuse a National Guard member for a maximum of 10% of these training drills in any given year, thus requiring that Bush complete at least 43 to satisfy his obligation. Failure to complete the required drills would, according to the (standard) signed obligation, allow the National Guard to transfer Bush to active duty, quite possibly in Vietnam.

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Bush's payroll records show that he was paid for only 40 drill periods in the 1972-73 fiscal year (he missed, and did not make up, May and June) and for only 36 for the 1973-74 fiscal year (he missed, and did not make up, July, August, and September). In addition, his payroll records show only 9 days of Annual Active Duty Training in fiscal year 1972-73, all in May (1-3, 8-10, and 22-24).

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When asked about attendance requirements, Lloyd stated that if these standards were strictly enforced then "90 percent of the people in the Guard would not have made satisfactory participation." Bush's defenders have also argued that, at a time with a glut of pilots with the end of the Vietnam War, Bush was doing the Air National Guard a favor by leaving early, because excess pilots were then being assigned to desk jobs.

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A final issue concerning Bush's inactive duty training is worth noting. National Guard regulations only allowed weekend drills to be made up during the period of 15 days prior to the scheduled drill to 30 days after the scheduled drill. In fiscal year 1972-73, three months of drills for which Bush was paid were in violation of this requirement. (He was paid for November 13-14, 1972, in place of December 2-3; for January 6 and 8, 1973, in place of February 10-11; and for January 9-10 in place of March 10-11.) In fiscal year 1973-74, two more months of drills for which Bush was paid were in violation of this requirement. (He was paid for July 16-17 in place of August 18-19, and for July 18-19 in place of September 22-23.) It is unclear why the centralized Air Force payroll system was not programmed to reject the pay input for these weekends; possibly these exceptions were not uncommon.

Related Topics:
November 13 - December 2 - January 6 - February 10 - January 9 - March 10 - July 16 - August 18 - July 18 - September 22

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Early release from military obligations

On July 30 1973, his last day of paid service in the Texas National Guard, Bush signed a statement that "I have been counseled this date regarding my plans to leave my present Reserve of assignment due to moving from this area. I undestand that: a. If I disassociate from my current Ready Reserve Assignment, it is my responsibility to locate and be assigned to another Reserve Forces unit or mobilization augmentation position. If I fail to do so, I am subject to involuntary order to active duty for up to 24 months under the provisions of AFM 35-3, chapter 14."

Related Topics:
July 30 - 1973

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There is no record that Bush attempted to find a position in any National Guard unit, or in drilling Air Force Reserve unit, or any position that would have met the criteria mentioned in his July 30 1973 statement.

Related Topics:
July 30 - 1973

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On September 5, 1973, Bush requested discharge from service, to be effective on October 1. He wrote, "I am moving to Boston, Massachusetts to attend Harvard Business School as a full time student." Jerry Killian recommended approval of the discharge the following day. Bush had completed five years, four months, and five days toward his six-year service obligation.

Related Topics:
September 5 - 1973 - October 1 - Harvard Business School

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On October 1, 1973, Bush was honorably discharged from the Texas Air National Guard and transferred to the inactive reserves in Denver, Colorado. He was discharged from the Air Force Reserve on November 21, 1974.

Related Topics:
October 1 - 1973 - Honorably discharged - Denver, Colorado - November 21 - 1974

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Arguments have been made that since Bush's service should have ended in May 1974 (he enlisted in May 1968 and had a six-year obligation), there was some sort of disciplinary action involved with his discharge from the Texas Air National Guard that resulted in an additional six months of obliged service. No documents to prove such arguments have been produced.

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