As the Kerry Campaign's DJs insist on scratching the well-worn record of who did what during the Vietnam war, I can almost picture Karl Rove suppressing a smile as the campaign digs itself deeper and deeper into a hole.
Can I believe somebody looked out for Bush Jr. and arranged for him to be put in the National Guard "weekend warriors" rather than in some infantry unit in Vietnam? Perhaps --- even if Bush Sr. (then a Comgressman from Texas) would point-blank refuse to ask for favors, some might do them without asking.
Can I believe Bush Jr. did not fulfill his assigned duties? No. Neil Boortz looked up the roster of Bush's duty credit points over his career (the minimum annual requirement was 50 points, with a 6-year commitment):
* May 1968 to May 1969 253 points
* May 1969 to May 1970 340 points
* May 1970 to May 1971 137 points
* May 1971 to May 1972 112 points
* May 1972 to May 1973 56 points
* May 1973 to May 1974 56 points
The nonpartisan FactCheck.org site --- which routinely goes after both major parties --- agrees (see also here) that Bush fulfilled his duties.
The picture that emerges is this: especially the first two years, Bush Jr. worked his behind off mastering the notorious F-102 Delta Dagger interceptor plane --- which had a better reputation than the F-104 Starfighter/Flying Coffin, but only barely. In fact, his superiors and peers thought highly of him then (see also below).
In 1972, Bush Jr. worked on the unsuccessful 1972 campaign, for senator from Alabama, of Republican Winton Blunt. To avoid having to commute between Alabama and Texas, he requested transfer to a National Guard unit in Montgomery, AL. As they did not have F-102s, he was given non-flying duties --- which probably explains why he skipped the medical checkup required to retain flying status. Apparently, his superiors put him to work doing odd jobs ("als manusje van alles"). [UPDATE: I should have pointed out that, as a result of Nixon's "Vietnamization" doctrine, US forces in Vietnam were getting wound down by then, and an actual glut of pilots existed at the time --- and even the actual US Air Force was trying to encourage pilots to return to civilian life. It wasn't like they were in desperate need of replacement pilots ;-)]
Shortly after the election, Bush Jr. returned to Houston. He then applied for an early release from his 6-year commitment so he could attend Harvard Business School in the fall. Following a 3-month period in which he did 38 days of duty (more than in the entire preceding year), he was granted an early honorable discharge.
In fact, Jed Babbin gathers some testimony from people who served with Dubya:
The Texas ANG had the F-102, and probably wished it didn't. According to [Retired Col. Bill] Campenni, "The F-102 was underpowered and, unlike modern fighters, had a split front view through the canopy. It literally had a bar down the center, so you'd have one eye on each side of the bar. It also had a built in altimeter error of up to 500 feet, which made it interesting when you were at 500 feet out over the ocean at night." Flying and training in the '102 was a dangerous job that required a lot of smarts and flying skill.Bob Harmon [...] an instructor pilot [...] remembers Bush as a "young, affable guy" and an above-average pilot, very good for his level of experience. "We flew together two or three times a month." It was dangerous duty. Harmon said that a couple of pilots were killed in F-102 accidents while Bush was there.
The first American jet fighters to be deployed to Vietnam were F-102s of the 509th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. When Lt. Bush signed up for fighters and joined the 111th FIS, he stood ready to deploy to Vietnam, as did every other Air National Guard pilot. In fact, he tried to volunteer for Vietnam.
Of the four pilots I spoke to who flew with Bush in the Texas days, Fred Bradley knew him best. [...] Bush — along with Bradley — [went] to their squadron leaders to see if they could get into a program called "Palace Alert." "There were four of us lieutenants at the time, and we were all fairly close. Two of them had more flight time than the president and me, said Bradley." All four volunteered for Vietnam (Bradley doesn't remember whether he and Bush actually signed paperwork, but he specifically remembers both Bush and himself trying to get into the Palace Alert Vietnam program.) Bush and Bradley were turned away, and the two more senior pilots went to Vietnam.
Joe Glavin, another member of Dubya's squadron said, "There were always a core of the guys who were the "in guys" and [Bush] was in the middle of it...George's difference was that we all knew that his daddy was rich and that he was smarter than the rest of us." Smarter? "I don't understand where [people saying Dubya is a dummy] comes from. [...] When we had to sit [takeoff in five minutes] alerts, there were two pilots, and two crew chiefs that sat out in the alert barn. George was like everybody else, except while George was over in a corner reading somebody's autobiography, the rest of us were watching Hee Haw."
[Glavin] told me of one night when the two were on alert and were scrambled to run a practice intercept over the Gulf of Mexico. Bush went out long and high, and turned back at supersonic speed. Glavin also went supersonic and then his radio failed. At that point, the two F-102s were approaching each other at a combined speed of about 1,800 miles an hour. At 20 miles — about 45 seconds before the paths would cross — Bush broke off the intercept. "We went to debrief with the controller and the controller said to George, why'd you break off the intercept? George said something to the effect of '[here] we're coming at each other at 1,800 miles an hour and he doesn't have a radio and you expect me to just sit there?' He said, 'we're not doin' that.'"
When you fly fighters with any squadron, you're literally betting your life on your pals' flying skills, just as they are betting it all on yours. Bush's old squadron-mates have the same confidence in him now they had when they flew with him. Bradley said, "I've always thought he was an intelligent, likeable, level-headed person." According to Glavin, "George was a smart man, an excellent pilot, and I'd fly with him again tomorrow, and I will vote for him in November." Which is about as high as praise gets among the jet jocks.
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