|
Bush missed 1972 physical suspended as pilot Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/163815p-143464c.htmlhttp://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/163815p-143464c.html
W left Guard unit too soon
'Bama-bound without OK from Texas
By LARRY COHLER-ESSES and BOB PORT
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
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
Originally published on February 12, 2004
|
|
