As some fogies want to let it go because it refutes their image of him and causes all sorts of mental dis-connect, I put up another article on Bush and his lack of service to his county in time of war. Won't go away folks, this guy is prosecuting Americans for not 'volunteering' to extend their service to a seond and third tour. Let's hold him up for what he is and let the veterans see him in the light they'd judge a fellow soldier on, before they blindly accept the leadership of such an one as this in the military. Note the quotations of Bush at the end. Blog ON.

EXCERPT BEGINS

W left Guard unit too soon

By LARRY COHLER-ESSES and BOB PORT

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Thursday, February 12th, 2004



George W. Bush left his Texas Air National Guard assignment and moved to

Alabama in 1972 even though the Air Force denied his request for a

transfer, according to his military records.



In fact, Bush, did not even ask for an official transfer until nine days

after he moved to Alabama in May 1972.



The Air Force quickly rejected Bush's request, saying the fighter pilot

was "ineligible" to move to the Alabama unit Bush wanted - a squadron of

postal handlers.



Nevertheless, Bush stayed in Alabama until his Texas commanders finally

gave him written authorization five months later to train there.



The controversy over Bush's Vietnam War-era record - and Democratic

charges that he was AWOL - has prodded records documenting his service

into public scrutiny. While they suggest he complied with the

requirements of the time, they also show long absences from duty and

that he was suspended from flying.



As the questions about his service continued at the White House for a

second day, Bush spokesman Scott McClellan denounced them as "gutter

politics."



Bush went to Alabama to work on the Republican senate campaign of Winton

(Red) Blount. Mary Marks Curtis of Montgomery, Ala., who worked with

Bush and dated him at the time, said that after the election, "he left

and came back to Montgomery in late November or early December. He told

me that he was coming back to Montgomery because he had to fulfill his

Guard duty."



Defense Department payroll records released by the White House show Bush

was paid for two days of Guard duty in October and four days in

mid-November.



Another aspect of Bush's service that continues to prompt questions is

why he missed a physical in 1972 that caused him to be suspended as a pilot.



In 1999, Bush spokeswoman Karen Hughes said Bush missed his physical

because he was in Alabama, and there were only a few special doctors who

could do physicals.



McClellan would not even let the question be asked yesterday. When a

Daily News reporter tried several times to ask about the missed

physical, McClellan said, "I'm not going to engage in gutter politics.

I'm going to focus on what we're doing to make the world safer, to make

the world a better place."



Lawrence Korb, a former assistant secretary of defense for personnel and

a Navy flier in Vietnam, said a pilot losing his flight status was a

serious matter.



"We spent $1 million to train him to fly," Korb said. "You're supposed

to be ready to fly if we need you. If you didn't show up for your flight

physical, good heavens!"



But former Air Force historian Richard Kohn said, "If they allowed him

to leave his unit in Houston, that must have meant they didn't have a

pressing need for pilots."



Doing Time With Texas Air National Guard



1968 Graduates from Yale and joins Texas Air National Guard at the

height of the Vietnam War, when there were long waiting lists to get

into a Guard or Reserve unit. Bush's unit, dubbed the Champagne Unit,

included the sons of Sen. Lloyd Bentsen and Gov. John Connally, as well

as several members of the Dallas Cowboys.



Aug. 25, 1968 Completes basic training in San Antonio and is promoted to

second lieutenant.



1969 Graduates from flight school at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., as pilot

trainee.



1970 Graduates from Combat Crew Training School at Ellington Air Force

Base in Texas; promoted to first lieutenant. Is trained to fly F-102 jets.



1971 Participates in drills and alerts at Ellington. Begins work for

Houston-based agricultural company. Bush's father becomes UN ambassador.



April 1972 Takes last flight as a Guard member.



May 15 Leaves his Texas unit and heads for Alabama.



May 24 Bush seeks permission to be transferred to an Alabama Reserve

postal unit so he can work on Senate campaign of family friend Winton

(Red) Blount.



May 31 Bush's request is denied because he has been trained as a pilot

and this is not an appropriate posting for him. Bush does not return to

his Texas unit.



July Misses annual flight physical.



Sept. 5 Gets authorization to work on the Senate campaign and also is

authorized to perform some of his service in Alabama. Records indicate

he was paid for six days of service in October and November. No one has

vouched for seeing him there, but Bush insists he reported for duty.



Sept. 29 Is suspended as a pilot for failure to take annual physical.



December 1972 Returns to Texas but is not paid by the Guard for any

service that month.



Early 1973 Is paid for six days of service in January and two days in

April. Bush's father becomes chairman of the Republican National Committee.



April 1973 Commanding officers in Texas say they cannot evaluate his

performance for the previous year because he has not been observed.



Summer 1973 To achieve the 50 points he needs to complete his annual

service, Bush does 14 days in May, five in June and 19 in July. These

are all nonflying drills and include work at an inner-city poverty program.



Sept. 18, 1973 Arranges to leave the Guard six months early to attend

Harvard Business School. A deal for early release was not unusual at the

time.



Oct. 1, 1973 Receives honorable discharge.



Bush on Bush



"I'm saying to myself, 'What do I want to do?' I think I don't want to

be an infantry guy as a private in Vietnam. What I do decide to want to

do is learn to fly."



Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, 1989



"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."



Dallas Morning News, Feb. 25, 1990



"I don't want to play like I was somebody out there marching when I

wasn't. It was either Canada or the service. ... Somebody said the Guard

was looking for pilots. All I know is, there weren't that many people

trying to be pilots."



Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Nov. 29, 1998



EXCERPT ENDS click link for copy verify