"Epimethius" <Epimethius@no-spam> wrote in message
news:kp5Na.30955$926.3109@no-spam
> Bush's Top 10 Lies, Exaggerations And 'Obsfucations'
> About His Military Service
> by Nancy Skinner
> co-host of "Ski & Skinner" on WLS-AM Chicago
>
> Governor Bush has made credibility the central issue of this campaign, and
> makes almost daily references to the Vice President's alleged
exaggerations
> and lack of truthfulness. But on a subject that could not be more
important
> for his presidential candidacy, his own military service, the record shows
> that George W. Bush has exaggerated and even lied about his service.
> Governor Bush took a solemn oath during wartime to serve his country in
the
> Texas Air National Guard. He did not honor that oath He walked away.
And
> in this presidential campaign, he has made several misrepresentations
about
> his service. A number of newspaper reports and even more accounts on
> Internet websites, based on Freedom Of Information Act requests of Bush's
> official military record, have concluded that he completely missed at
least
> one year of service, and may not have shown up in person for his last
year.
> While those reports continue to be debated, the following statements by
Bush
> and his aides are directly contradicted by the current record.
>
> #1 Bush never showed up in Alabama Air National Guard when directly
ordered
> to do so, after requesting a transfer to work in Alabama.
>
> "I was there on a temporary assignment and fulfilled my weekends at one
> period of time" Bush said during a campaign stop in Tuscaloosa, AL,
> referring to his claim that he served in the Alabama National Guard.
[Dallas
> Morning News, 6/26/00]
>
> "He specifically recalls pulling duty in Alabama," spokesman Dan Bartlett
> said of Bush. "He did his drills." Bartlett said the Republican governor
> showed up "several" times while in Alabama, where he transferred from his
> Houston Guard unit in 1972 to work for the unsuccessful Senate campaign of
> Republican Winton Blount, a friend of Bush's father. [Washington Post
> 6/25/00]
>
> The Truth
>
> Bush left Houston May 15, 1972 and went to work on a political campaign in
> Alabama. His first request for a transfer on May 24 was denied because
the
> unit was inactive. His second request on September 5 to a different unit
> was granted. He was issued a direct order to report on specific days to
the
> base, which he completely ignored. The order was issued on September 15
to
> report to then-Lieutenant Colonel William Turnipseed at Dannelly Air Force
> base in Montgomery, AL, on the dates of "7-8 October 0730-1600, and 4-5
> November 0730-1600" His orders, dated Sept. 15, 1972, said: "Lieutenant
> Bush should report to Lt. Col. William Turnipseed, DCO, to perform
> equivalent training." [Boston Globe 5/23/00]
> http://www.cis.net/~coldfeet/doc11.gif
>
> · His Commanding Officer, William Turnipseed, says he did not show
> up.
>
> "To my knowledge, he never showed up," Turnipseed said last month. [Boston
> Globe 5/23/00] In interviews last week, Turnipseed and his administrative
> officer at the time, Kenneth K. Lott, said they had no memory of Bush ever
> reporting. ''Had he reported in, I would have had some recall, and I do
> not,'' Turnipseed said. ''I had been in Texas, done my flight training
> there. If we had had a first lieutenant from Texas, I would have
> remembered.'' Turnipseed also reports that the then-squadron operations
> officer of the Alabama Guard also has no recollection of having seen
> Bush.(The New Republic 10/16/2000)
>
> "Furthermore, a spokesman for the Alabama National Guard estimates there
> were 600 to 700 members in the unit Bush was supposed to have served with
in
> 1972. But none of these men has ever come forward to say he remembers
Bush,
> and Bush has not named a single one of them."(The New Republic 10/16/2000)
>
> · There is no official National Guard record for George W. Bush's
> service in Alabama.
>
> "His official discharge records do not include any service after May 15 of
> 1972. Indeed, Bush's discharge papers list his service and duty station
for
> each of his first four years in the Air Guard. But there is no record of
> training listed after May 1972, and no mention of any service in Alabama.
On
> that discharge form, Lloyd (Albert Lloyd Jr., a retired colonel who was
the
> Texas Air Guard's personnel director from 1969 to 1995 and was hired by
the
> Bush campaign to make sense of the governor's military records) said,
> ''there should have been an entry for the period between May 1972 and May
> 1973.'' Said Lloyd, ''It appeared he had a bad year. He might have lost
> interest, since he knew he was getting out.'' [Boston Globe 5/23/00]
>
> · No one in the Alabama National Guard ever saw him.
>
> "A spokesman for the Alabama National Guard estimates there were 600 to
700
> members in the unit Bush was supposed to have served with in 1972. But
none
> of these men has ever come forward to say he remembers Bush, and Bush has
> not named a single one of them." (The New Republic 10/16/2000)
>
> Even though members of the Alabama Air National Guard have offered $1000
to
> anyone who can remember serving with Bush, no one has come forward to
> corroborate his service, with the exception of an old girlfriend who says
> she remembers him saying he was going, but does not have any other
evidence,
> essentially making it her word against Bush's commanding officers' and a
> lack of official documents as noted above.
>
> · Even the Bush campaign claims that he only showed up on a single
> day in November and made up missed weekends, not contesting the fact that
he
> defied direct orders to appear on the dates stated above.
>
> "National Guard records provided by the Guard and by the Bush campaign
> indicate he did serve on Nov. 29, 1972, after the election. These records
> also show a gap in service from that time to the previous May. Mr. Bush
says
> he made up for the lost time in subsequent months, and guard records show
he
> received credit for having performed all the required service." [NYT
> 7/22/00]
>
> The evidence to support Bush's service on November 29, 1972 is highly
> suspect for the following reasons:
>
> - The document offered to dispute the claim by his
> commanding officers in Alabama is a single torn document that does not
have
> Bush's name on it, is undated and unsigned. The document was "discovered"
in
> 1998 by the man Bush hired to investigate his record, Al Loyd, and added
to
> the official record. This late addition to the official record also raises
> additional chain of command issues.
>
> - There are two different versions of the document.
The
> one 'discovered' by Mr. Loyd and given to George Magazine has handwritten
> annotations. The other version came from Mr. Bush's official record
through
> a FOIA request by Martin Heldt. http://www.cis.net/~coldfeet/doc99.gif
The
> FOIA version did not have any annotations.
>
> - The document comes from the Texas National Guard
> Archives according to the numbering in the right hand corner of the
> document, even though duty reports were localized at the time, meaning his
> service in Alabama would not have been recorded by the Texas Air National
> Guard.
>
> #2 Bush didn't return to Ellington Air Force Base after his temporary
> transfer as required.
>
> A Bush spokesman, Dan Bartlett, said after talking with the governor that
> Bush recalls performing some duty in Alabama and ''recalls coming back to
> Houston and doing [Guard] duty, though he does not recall if it was on a
> consistent basis.''
>
> Noting that Bush, by that point, was no longer flying, Bartlett added,
> ''It's possible his presence and role became secondary.'' [Boston Globe
> 5/23/00]
>
> The Truth
>
> · According to his annual evaluation by his commanding officers,
he
> may have been in Houston but he was not at the base.
>
> "Cleared this base 15 May 1972" According to Lieutenant Colonel William
> Harris Jr. and Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Killian in Bush's annual
evaluation
> , Ellis Air Force Base, Houston. The report makes clear that Bush had
"not
> been observed " at his Texas unit "during the period of this report" - May
> 1972-April 1973." [Boston Globe 5/23/00]
>
> · Even his commanding officer, whom he called a "friend" did not
> know where he was.
>
> "Asked about that declaration, campaign spokesman Bartlett said Bush told
> him that since he was no longer flying, he was doing ''odds and ends''
under
> different supervisors whose names he could not recall. But retired colonel
> Martin, the unit's former administrative officer, said he too thought Bush
> had been in Alabama for that entire year. Harris and Killian, he said,
would
> have known if Bush returned to duty at Ellington. And Bush, in his
> autobiography, identifies the late colonel Killian as a friend, making it
> even more likely that Killian knew where Bush was." [Boston Globe 5/23/00]
>
> #3 He quit flying in Texas because his plane was replaced.
>
> In his autobiography, Mr. Bush explains that when he applied to
> Harvard Business School in 1972, "I was almost finished with my commitment
> in the Air National Guard, and was no longer flying because the F102 jet I
> has trained in was being replaced by a different fighter."
>
> The Truth
> · "His unit continued to fly the F-102 until 1974 [Boston Globe
> 5/23/00] "If he had come back to Houston, I would have kept him flying the
> 102 until he got out" said retired Major Bobby W. Hodges, "But I don't
> remember him coming back at all"'.
>
> · "Lieutenant Bush, to be sure, had gone off flying status when he
> went to Alabama. But had he returned to his unit in November 1972, there
> would have been no barrier to him flying again, except passing a flight
> physical. Although the F-102 was being phased out, his unit's records show
> that Guard pilots logged thousands of hours in the F-102 in 1973."[Boston
> Globe 5/23/00]
>
> · His commitment was through May of 1974. (An exaggeration?)
>
> #4 He wasn't flying in Alabama because they had different planes.
>
> On June 26th this report appeared in the Dallas Morning News.
> "Campaigning Friday in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Bush was asked about his 1972
> service in that state. "I was there on a temporary assignment and
fulfilled
> my weekends at one period of time," he said. "I made up some missed
> weekends." "I can't remember what I did, but I wasn't flying because they
> didn't have the same airplanes. I fulfilled my obligations."
>
> The Truth
> · He was no longer flying because he had been suspended in August
of
> 1972 for failure to "accomplish" a required medical exam. [Boston Globe,
> 5/23/00] (Suspension document at
http://www.cis.net/~coldfeet/grounded.gif)
>
> · Bush was suspended from flying on August 1, 1972, prior to his
> request for the transfer to the187th at Montgomery Alabama, September 5,
> 1972. Bush did not receive permission until September 15, which was close
> to six weeks after his suspension from flying.
>
> · Another question is raised by the fact that he cannot remember
> what he did for the Air National Guard in Alabama, despite the fact that
28
> years later he still remembers the specifics of his work there on the
> campaign of William Blount as cited in a July 22, 2000 New York Times
> article. "In an interview 28 years later, Mr. Bush remembered the numbers.
> "We all teamed together and helped Red get about 36 percent of the vote,"
he
> said with a short laugh, "in spite of the fact that Nixon had gotten 72
> percent of the vote. The ticket-splitting was phenomenal.""
>
> #5 Three different stories on why he was suspended.
>
> Story #1) "Bush's campaign aides have said he did not take the physical
> because he was in Alabama and his personal physician was in Houston."
> [Boston Globe 5/23/00].
>
> The Truth
> · In fact as the Boston Globe goes on to state "flight physicals
can
> be administered only by certified Air Force flight surgeons, and some were
> assigned at the time to Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, where Bush
was
> living."
>
> Story #2) Then in June, campaign officials told the London Times Bush did
> not technically need to take his flight physical. "As he was not flying,
> there was no reason for him to take the flight physical exam," according
to
> campaign spokesman Don Bartlett.
>
> · Any suggestion that he had simply decided to "give up flying"
prio
> r to his suspension, with two years remaining on his commitment and nearly
> one million dollars (in real terms) invested in his training is not
> plausible. It is not up to an Air National Guard pilot to decide whether
or
> not he "intends" to fly.
>
> · "If he had come back to Houston, I would have kept him flying
the
> 102 until he got out" said retired Major Bobby W. Hodges [Boston Glove
> 5/23/00]
>
> Story #3) In the same article, Bush campaign spokesman Dan Bartlett told
the
> newspaper that Bush was aware back then that he would be suspended for
> missing his medical exam, but had no choice because he had applied for a
> transfer from Houston to Alabama and his paperwork hadn't caught up with
> him. "It was just a question of following the bureaucratic procedure of
the
> time," Bartlett said. "He knew the suspension would have to take place."
>
> · The exam was required to be completed in the three months
> preceding his birthday, July 6, 1972. A three month window seems adequate
to
> avoid being suspended from flying.
>
> So which is it: his family physician, he didn't have to take the exam, or
a
> bureaucratic snafu?
>
> #6 Bush denied strings were pulled to get him in the Texas Air National
> Guard.
>
> "I can just tell you, from my perspective, I never asked for, I don't
> believe I received special treatment," Bush told reporters." [DMN 9/08/99]
>
> The Truth
>
> · "Former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes confirmed Monday that he recommended
> Gov. George W. Bush for a slot in the Texas Air National Guard during the
> height of the Vietnam War, at the request of a Bush family friend. Mr.
> Barnes' account came in a written statement that was released after he
> testified in a deposition stemming from a federal lawsuit.' [DMN 9/28/99]
>
> · "The statement by Mr. Barnes also confirmed that he met a year
ago
> with a top Bush adviser to discuss the Guard matter. As reported in The
> News, Mr. Bush sent a note thanking Mr. Barnes for his help in rebutting
> rumors that Mr. Bush's father helped his son find a Guard slot, the
> statement confirmed." [DMN 9/08/99]
>
> · "Mr. Barnes was contacted by [Houston businessman] Sid Adger and
> asked to recommend George W. Bush for a pilot position with the Air
National
> Guard," Mr. Barnes' statement said. "Barnes called Gen. [James] Rose and
did
> so." [DMN 9/28/00]
>
> "No Bush ever asked Sid Adger to help," the governor said.[DMN 9/28/00]
>
> · "A spokeswoman for former President George Bush confirmed the
> elder Bush's friendship with Mr. Adger but said he was "almost positive"
he
> never talked to Mr. Adger - or anyone else - about getting his son into
the
> Guard. "He said he is fairly certain - I mean he doesn't remember
everything
> that happened in the 1960s - but he said he and Sid Adger never, ever
talked
> about George W. and the Texas Air National Guard," said Jean Becker, a
> spokeswoman for the former president. "President Bush knew Sid Adger
well,"
> Ms. Becker said. "He loved him."' [DMN 9/08/99]
>
> · "When Bush was admitted into the Guard in 1968, 100,000 other
men
> were on waiting lists around the country, hoping to win admission to
similar
> units. The Guard was popular because those units were rarely sent to
> Vietnam." [LAT 7/4/99]
>
> #7 Bush said the Texas Air National Guard was short on pilots.
>
> "They were looking for pilots, and I was honored to serve.", Governor Bush
> told the Dallas Morning News. [DMN9/08/99]
>
> The Truth
>
> · "But Tom Hail, a historian for the Texas Air National Guard,
said
> that records do not show a pilot shortage in the Guard squadron at the
time.
> Hail, who reviewed the unit's personnel records for a special Guard museum
> display on Gov. Bush's service, said Bush's unit had 27 pilots at the time
> he began applying. While that number was two short of its authorized
> strength, the unit had two other pilots who were in training and another
> awaiting a transfer. There was no apparent need to fast-track applicants,
he
> said." [LAT 7/4/99]
>
>
>
> · "The Texas Air Guard had about 900 slots for pilots, air and
> ground crew members, supervisors, technicians and support staff. Sgt.
Donald
> Dean Barnhart, who still serves in the Guard, said that he kept a waiting
> list of about 150 applicants' names. He said it took up to a year and a
half
> for one name to move to the top of the list. "Quite a few gentlemen were
> wanting to get in," he recalled. For Bush, there was no wait. He met with
> commander Staudt in his Houston office and made his application--all
before
> his graduation in June." [LAT, 7/4/99]
>
>
>
> "Beckwith, Bush's spokesman, painted a different picture. He said that the
> Guard needed pilots at the time and Bush was available. "A lot of people
> weren't qualified" or willing to fly, he said, so special commissions were
> offered to those willing to undergo the extra training required."
>
> [LAT 7/4/99]
>
>
>
> · "But Shoemake, who also served as a chief of personnel in the
> Texas Guard from 1972 to 1980, remembers no pilot shortage. "We had so
many
> people coming in who were super-qualified," he said." [LAT 7/4/99]
>
>
>
> · "Records from his [Bush's] military file show that in January
> 1968, after inquiring about Guard admission, Mr. Bush went to an Air Force
> recruiting office near Yale, where he took and passed the test required by
> the Air Force for pilot trainees. His score on the pilot aptitude section,
> one of five on the test, was in the 25th percentile, the lowest allowed
for
> would-be fliers." [7/4/99]
>
> #8 There was no special deal when he received a direct appointment to
second
> lieutenant right after basic training, with no qualifications.
> "Officials in Bush's presidential campaign denied last week that he was
> treated differently from other recruits. "Our information is there was
> absolutely no special deal," said spokesman David Beckwith." [LAT 7/4/99]
>
> "He [Commander Staudt] recommended Bush for a direct appointment--a
special
> process that would allow the young recruit to become a second lieutenant
> right out of basic training without having to go through the rigors of
> officer candidate school. The process also cleared the way for a slot in
> pilot training school." [LAT, 7/4/99]
>
> The Truth
> · "But Charles C. Shoemake, an Air Force veteran who later joined
> the Texas Air National Guard, eventually retiring as a full colonel, said
> that direct appointments were rare and hard to get, and required extensive
> credentials. "I went from master sergeant to first lieutenant based on my
> three years in college and 15 years as a noncommissioned officer. Then I
got
> considered for a direct appointment." Even then, he said, "I didn't know
> whether I was going to get into pilot training."" [LAT 7/4/99]
>
> · "As for a direct commission for someone of Bush's limited
> qualifications, Hail said, "I've never heard of that. Generally they did
> that for doctors only, mostly because we needed extra flight surgeons.""
> [LAT 7/4/99]
>
> #9 As evidence he wasn't dodging combat, Mr. Bush has pointed to his
> efforts to try to volunteer for a program that rotated Guard pilots to
> Vietnam, although he wasn't called. [DMN 7/4/99]
>
> The Truth
> · "Mr. Bush's application for the Guard included a box to be
checked
> specifying whether he did or did not volunteer for overseas duty. His
> includes a check mark in the box not wanting to volunteer for such an
> assignment." [DMN 7/4/99]
>
> #10 In Bush's 1999 autobiography, A Charge to Keep, Mr. Bush says that
> after completing flight training in June 1970, "I continued flying with
my
> unit for the next several years".
>
> The Truth
> · "But 22 months after finishing his training, and with two years
> left on his six-year commitment, Bush gave up flying - for good, it would
> turn out". [Boston Globe, 5/23/00]
>
> Several Years or 22 months - an exaggeration? Perhaps, the bigger
question
> is why did he quit flying?
>
>