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George W. Bush military service controversy

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File:Pres GW Bush in uniform.jpg
George W. Bush in uniform

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 issue was addressed in the mass media during the 2000 presidential campaign and was raised again in the 2004 presidential campaign. Prior to his presidential campaigns, opponents of Mr. Bush invoked various contentions about his service during his successful Texas Gubernatorial campaigns in 1994 and 1998.

Background

Bush enlisted in the Texas Air National Guard on May 27, 1968 during the Vietnam War, with a commitment to serve until May 26, 1974. In his Statement of Intent at the time, he wrote, "I have applied for pilot training with the goal of making flying a lifetime pursuit and I believe I can best accomplish this to my own satisfaction by serving as a member of the Air National Guard as long as possible." He served as an F-102 pilot until 1973, logging 336 flight hours during his service [1] and was twice promoted during his service, first to second lieutenant and then to first lieutenant.

In November 1970, Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian, the commander of the Texas Air National Guard, recommended that Bush be promoted to first Lieutenant, calling him "a dynamic outstanding young officer" who stood out as "a top notch fighter interceptor pilot." He said that "Lt. Bush's skills far exceed his contemporaries," and that "he is a natural leader whom his contemporaries look to for leadership. Lt. Bush is also a good follower with outstanding disciplinary traits and an impeccable military bearing."

Controversy over Bush's acceptance into the National Guard

File:Pres GW Bush mounting jet.jpg
Bush mounts a jet.

Prominent American Democratic, liberals, and left-wing political figures--most notably Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe and documentary filmmaker Michael Moore--have questioned whether Bush's father used his political influence to keep him out of the war. At the time, then-Presidents Johnson and Nixon decided against calling up the National Guard for extended service in Vietnam. As a result, National Guard service at the time was widely seen as a way to avoid going to war. The waiting list for the guard at that time was extremely long, but there have been charges that men from influential families were put to the top of the list (a similar accusation was leveled at J. Danforth Quayle III, vice-president while Bush's father was president).

Ben Barnes, the former speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, asserted under oath that he had called the head of the Texas Air National Guard, Brig. Gen. James Rose, to recommend Bush for a pilot spot at the request of Bush family friend Sidney Adger [2]. Barnes, now a fund-raiser for John Kerry's campaign in Texas, repeated these claims in an interview with CBS News on Sept. 8, 2004. Former Texas legislator Jake Johnson has stated that before General Rose died, he told him that he had been responsible for Bush's acceptance into the Guard.

Both George W. Bush and his father have stated that they did not ask Adger to intercede and were unaware of any action he may have taken. Walter Staudt, the colonel in command of Bush's squadron, has stated that he accepted Bush's application without receiving any outside pressure to do so. It has been reported that Bush jumped to the top of a list of over 500 applicants for the position despite receiving the minimum passing score (25) on the pilot entrance aptitude test and listing no other qualifications. Serving in the same unit as Bush were the sons of other prominent men, including the sons of Democratic Governor John Connally, Democratic Senator and future Vice-Presidential nominee Lloyd Bentsen, and Republican Senator John Tower, as well as seven members of the Dallas Cowboys professional football club, and a man named James R. Bath, who would become a longtime friend of Bush's.

The unit in which Bush served was known as a "Champagne unit," where the scions of the Texas aristocracy could avoid combat duty with relatively few demands on their time. The Air National Guard did see limited Vietnam service in 1965 and 1968, and a pilot program to consider using F-102 airplanes as bombers in Vietnam was underway. According to a pilot from Bush's squadron, Bush inquired about this program but was advised by a supervisor (Maj. Maurice Udell) that he did not have the necessary experience (500 hours) at the time and that the program was winding down and not accepting more volunteers. In a 1994 interview, Bush stated that his reason for joining the guard was a standard one: "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" [3]

Allegation that Bush was "absent without leave"

File:Pres GW Bush in Army jacket.jpg
President G.W. Bush in present-day U.S. Army jacket delivering a speech to a military audience

Opposition charges concerning his military service were brought up during both the 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns. Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe, at the beginning of February 2004, accused Bush of being AWOL from the National Guard, for having insufficient documentation of his service for one of the six years of his active duty. McAuliffe had been chief fund-raiser for former President Bill Clinton. An advertisement, released in September 2004 by the 527 group Texans for Truth, specficially targeted this issue in Bush's campaign for re-election.

President Bush released documents from the Alabama National Guard including, most recently, pay stubs and a record of a dental examination. His mid-February release of never-before-seen guard documents seem to contradict his February 8, 2004, statements to Meet the Press interviewer Tim Russert that "We did [authorize the release of everything] in 2000, by the way."; however, Bush contends that he was referring only to documents already in his possession, as opposed to the new documents, which were just recently received from the Alabama National Guard. More than 700 additional documents were released on February 13, 2004. Service records were also obtained from the National Personnel Records Center which were released to the media, political campaign committees, and the general public under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.

The files show that the service record until May 1972 is without faults, but still have gaps after that date. Pertaining to the dates of controversy, records show that on May 24, 1972, Bush filled out a form requesting a transfer to the 9921st Air Reserve Squadron in Montgomery, Alabama. According to his application, he was already in Alabama at work on the Senate campaign of Winton M. Blount, who was a friend of his father. Bush was employed by the firm of Allison & Travalan in Montgomery; Jimmy Allison was also a longtime family friend. On May 26, Reese H. Bricken, commander of the 9921st, wrote to Bush to tell him that his application had been accepted. However, there has been controversy over the question of whether he reported for duty or not. No records have been offered to show that Bush did any work for the 9921st. Pay sheet summaries and attendance records contain no entries for the period of May 1972, to mid-October 1972.

On July 21, 1972, the Air Reserve Personnel Center in Denver ruled against Bush's reassignment to Alabama, and noted that as "an obligated Reservist" he could only be "assigned to a specific Ready Reserve Position." The ARPC wrote that Bush "is ineligible for assignment to an Air Reserve Squadron." According to Bricken, in an interview with the Boston Globe, We met just one weeknight a month. We were only a postal unit. We had no airplanes. We had no pilots. We had no nothing.. This rejection would have left Bush obligated to complete his duty with the 111th at Ellington Air Force Base near Houston, Texas; however, Bush had already left for Alabama two weeks prior.

Also in 1972, for unknown reasons, Bush skipped a mandatory physical examination; as a result, he was removed from active duty as a pilot. Bush has claimed that he wanted to wait to perform the physical until it could be done by his own private doctor, but this is challenged by critics because regulations required that the physical be performed by an Air Force doctor and there is no record of the physical having been completed at a later date in any case. Bush has subsequently claimed that he did not take the physical because he was no longer flying and it was therefor unneccessary, but critics note that it was required whether he was flying or not. Rumors of Bush's use of cocaine in his youth (which he has refused to deny) have prompted speculation that Bush was afraid of testing positive for illegal drug use. Kevin Drum, author of the Calpundit weblog, noted that Bush's pay records from Alabama are Air Reserve Force (not to be confused with Air Force Reserve) records, and documents released seem to confirm this transfer [4]. Transfer to the ARF has historically been a disciplinary action; ARF members, while not required to perform actual duty, could be drafted for the Vietnam war under the Obligated Reserves Section (ORS) [5]. Critics have claimed that failure to show up for the 1972 physical, in and of itself, constituted being 'Absent Without Leave'.

In 2004, a man named John "Bill" Calhoun, a former Alabama Air National Guard officer who had served at the Dannelly Air National Guard Base in Montgomery, home of the 187th Tactical Recon Group, claimed he had seen Bush report for duty eight to 10 times between May and October 1972. His recollection has been questioned due to the fact that Bush didn't even apply for reassignment to the 187th until September of that year.

Timeline of George W. Bush's service in the Air National Guard, originally created by Simon Woodside.

On September 5, 1972, Bush requested permission to "perform equivalent duty" at the 187th "for the months of September, October, and November," and he quickly received approval to do so. He was told to report to Lt. Col. William Turnipseed, the base commander, for drills on October 7 and 8, and November 4 and 5. Turnipseed has said that he could not recall whether Bush reported on those occasions. Bush's records do not list any service on those dates, but they do show that he was paid for two days of service on October 28 and 29. The location of the service and the duties performed are not described in the records.

Bush received a dental examination at Dannelly in Alabama on January 6, 1973, and then returned to his home base, the Ellington Air Force Base, in Houston. Pay sheet summaries indicate 11 possible days of service from January 1973 to May 1973: January 4-6 and 8-10, April 7-8, and May 1-3. The April and May service presumably occurred at Ellington, however there is nothing in the files showing that he reported on those days.

Between 1972 and 1973, Bush dated Mavanee Bear, another member of Blount's campaign staff. Bear stated "I know he served" because he had to regularly reschedule meetings, but also stated "I didn't see him in uniform." When later back in Texas, she frequently saw him in uniform, stating "I think he was mostly just flying in circles over Houston." [6].

A column in the Birmingham News (Alabama) elicited memories from people who remembered Bush when he was there: "None have specific recollections about Bush and the National Guard. Some heard he was serving but never saw for themselves." Opinions of him during this time ranged from bad (bragging about drinking and allegations he trashed a cottage where he was living) to good (amiable, well liked, and fond of sports). One coworker on the Blount campaign staff, Archibald Blount, a relative of Blount, claimed that Bush was known during this time as the "Texas Souffle", for his supposed character of looking good on the outside but not having much on the inside. Samuel Blount, the candidate's son, who also worked with Bush, said he did not remember such behavior from the future president. He pointed out that Archibald, his cousin, was "very, very liberal." "I like him. But I would take what he says with a big grain of salt." [7]

After the election, Bush returned to Houston in December 1972. While in Houston, Bush worked for an inner-city poverty program, Project P.U.L.L. (Professionals United for Leadership for Youth) which was the brainchild of the late John White, a former professional football player and civic leader. The next reported date of service in his record is May 29, 1973.

On May 2, 1973, Bush's immediate superiors conducted an annual performance review covering the period from May 1, 1972 to April 30, 1973, which stated that "Lt. Bush has not been observed at this unit during the period of the report." Apparently unaware that Bush had been in Texas since January 1973, Lt. Col. William D. Harris Jr. and Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian wrote, "A civilian occupation made it necessary for him to move to Montgomery, Ala. He cleared this base on 15 May 1972 and has been performing equivalent training in a non-flying status with the 187 Tac Recon Gp. Dannelly ANG Base, Alabama."

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. He had completed five years, four months, and five days toward his six-year service obligation, and was honorably discharged from the Texas Air National Guard on October 1, 1973. He was immediately transferred to the inactive reserves in Denver, Colorado, and then discharged from the Air Force Reserve on November 21, 1974.

James Moore, an Emmy Award winning TV news correspondent from Texas, claims to have a statement from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis that assures that the record of George W. Bush has not been altered in any way since it was committed to microfiche there [8], and that the documents that the press was allowed to see in February 2004 are incomplete [9]; thus implying that if the president was sincere when he said during the February 8, 2004 Meet the Press interview that he is willing to release the complete record, doing so might resolve the controversy.

On June 22, 2004, The Associated Press sued the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force, seeking access to all of Bush's records during his military service.

On July 8, 2004, the Pentagon revealed that the microfilmed payroll records of Bush and numerous other service members had been inadvertantly ruined in 1996 and 1997 by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service during a project to salvage deteriorating microfilm. A certain set of records was chosen for the trial salvaging to be performed; Bush's records did not fall within this time range, however, they were reported as being among the records destroyed in the trial salvaging. The records lost included those covering three months of a period in 1972 when Bush's claims of service in Alabama are in question, and the Pentagon reported that no paper backups could be found.

Then, on July 23, the Pentagon reported that the records it had previously reported destroyed had been found after all; a Pentagon official said the earlier contention that the records were destroyed was an "inadvertent oversight." They show no indication Bush drilled with the Alabama unit during July, August, or September 1972. Again, critics claim that if these payroll records are accurate then Bush was 'Absent Without Leave' for the drills in question. Even if he later 'made up' the absences he was AWOL at the time. [[Lawrence Korb[[, former Assisstant Secretary of Defense for President Reagan, has reviewed the payroll records and concluded that they indicate that Bush was AWOL.

On Sept. 9, 2004, the Boston Globe reported that when Bush was granted a transfer out of the Alabama National Guard so that he could attend Harvard Business School, Bush had committed himself to joining a National Guard unit in Massachusetts and completing his service there while attending business school. There is no record of Bush's having served in the Massachusetts National Guard and he has never claimed that he did so.

Memos allegedly from Jerry Killian

Coincident with CBS News's Sept. 8 interview with Ben Barnes was the release of another set of documents related to Bush's National Guard service. The most damaging documents, allegedly from the personal files of Jerry Killian, were obtained by CBS News from an unnamed source.

Allegations purportedly supported by memos

The disputed documents include the following accusations:

  1. An order directing Bush to submit to a physical examination. This order was not carried out.
  2. A note of a telephone conversation with Bush in which Bush sought to be excused from "drill." The note records that Bush said he did not have the time to attend to his National Guard duties because of his responsibilities with the Blount campaign.
  3. A note that Killian had grounded Bush from flying for failing to live up to the standards of the U.S. Air Force and the National Guard and for failure to submit to a physical examination.
  4. A note (labeled "CYA" for "cover your ass") claiming that Killian was being pressured from above to give Bush better marks in his yearly evaluation than he had earned. The note attributed to Killian says that he was being asked to "sugarcoat" Bush's performance. "I'm having trouble running interference [for Bush] and doing my job."

Brig. Gen. David L. McGinnis (ret'd) who once worked for an assistant secretary of defense, said that these documents prove that Bush did not complete his national service commitments, even if the records showed that he had been paid during this time. Lawrence Korb said that a truthful evaluation by Killian would have resulted in Bush's being drafted for active duty in Vietnam.

Authenticity of memos questioned

However, a number of bloggers almost immediately began questioning the authenticity of these files, with many suggesting they were forgeries, [10] [11], and one critic even offered $17,600 reward to anyone who could reasonably duplicate the memos on 1972 equipment.[12] Some experts consulted by the media agreed that certain characteristics of the documents prompted suspicions that they were not authentic. For example, the typeface documents' use of proportionally spaced type, kerning, and superscripts with smaller, stylized type. Such features, which make text appear to be professionally typeset, did not become universal until the advent of personal computers and word processors, and were available only on high-end models at the time, some of which were evaluated by the Air Force as early as 1969. [13] However, there it is not known if the Texas Air National Guard used these particular typewriters or what models were employed by TANG and what features they may have had.

Additionally, some critics claim that the memo could be duplicated identically with the default settings in Microsoft Word 2003 [14], while others dispute this, noting among other indiscrepancies letters and words in the original which are not aligned properly.[15] However, the discrepancies could have been introduced by a combination of FAX transmission (CBS apparently does not possess the original documents), repeated photocopying (a technique often used by forgers to give the appearance of age), and/or Photoshop manipulation. In addition, using a custom computer algorithm to find the best alignment between the scanned memo and the Word version shows an exact overlay, demonstrating how the low fidelity of the CBS documents can give the appearance of differences between individual letters in the two versions due to the random "thickening" introduced during the FAXing and/or photocopying process.[16]

There were numerous other elements of the memo that were questioned as highly suspicious. The paper was size 8.5 x 11, where the military used a smaller 8 x 10.5 sheet at the time. The language differed from standard military usage, (for example, in the use of abbreviations, and in punctuation). An officer, Walter Staudt, cited in a memo dated August 18, 1973 as exerting pressure on officers to "sugar coat" their evaluations of Bush, had in fact retired from the service in March of 1972. Both the widow and son of Jerry Killian have expressed doubts about their authenticity [17]. Only the May 4 memo bears a full signature. This signature was confirmed as authentic by Marcel B. Matley[18], an expert consulted by CBS, while another handwriting expert has expressed doubts about its authenticity[19].

CBS News claims the documents were "thoroughly vetted by independent experts" and that they "are convinced of their authenticity". On September 10, a CBS memo reiterated their confidence in the authenticity of the documents, which they said were "backed up not only by independent handwriting and forensic document experts but by sources familiar with their content" and insisted that no internal investigation would take place. Dan Rather, appearing on CNN, asserted "I know that this story is true. I believe that the witnesses and the documents are authentic. We wouldn't have gone to air if they would not have been."

CBS interviewed Robert Strong, a friend of Killian's who ran the Texas Air National Guard administrative office at the time. Strong believes the documents are authentic, saying "They are compatible with the way business was done at the time. They are compatible with the man that I remember Jerry Killian being." [20] CBS also cited Killian's immediate superior at the time, Major General Bobby W. Hodges, who reportedly said about the content of the memos "these are the things that Killian had expressed to me at the time." [21] Hodges, however, claims he was misled by CBS and that the quote does not reflect what he said. According to Hodges, CBS read to him the content of the memos, and Hodges simply stated, "well if he wrote them that's what he felt." [22]

Forensic document examiner Dr. Philip Bouffard has claimed there is at least a 90% probability that they memos are fake [23], yet the Boston Globe cited him as a "skeptic" whose "further study" caused his views to shift [24]. Bouffard claims that further study left him "more convinced" that the memos were forgeries. [25]

Partisan Conflicts of Interest

One common thread to the debate over the documents' authenticity lies in the fact that the most influential bloggers currently supporting the claim of authenticity are well-known for holding liberal views[26][27], while the earliest and most influential bloggers to question their authenticity[28][29][30] generally hold conservative views. This leads to a conflict of interest, as the people who believe that the documents are authentic are generally supporters of John Kerry or the Democratic Party in general (including Dan Rather, who raised $20,000 for the Texas Democratic party at an event in 2001), while those questioning their authenticity are generally supporters of President Bush.

The memos

See more: Killian memos

Reward offered for information

On February 23, 2004, in an attempt to establish the truth and generate publicity prior to the 2004 Presidential election, cartoonist Garry Trudeau, creator of Doonesbury, personally offered a highly-publicized $10,000 reward (in the form of a donation in the winner's name to the USO, which entertains U.S. troops) to anyone who had "personally witnessed" Bush reporting for drills at Dannelly Air National Guard Base between May and November 1972 [31]. Nobody has been able to claim the reward.

On February 27, 2004, Trudeau announced that despite over 1,300 responses, his offer had unearthed no new evidence to show that Bush actually turned up for duty in the time period in question. A spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee dismissed the reward as a "silly stunt." Trudeau agreed, saying, "She's right, but as a simple investigative cartoonist, I don't have a very big tool kit." [32]

Accusation Bush failed to complete required service

Some critics have gone beyond charges of 'AWOL' to claim that Bush was a 'deserter' or failed to complete his required National Guard service. President Bush has countered that he was honorably discharged and thus these accusations are false. Further, retired Texas Air National Guard Lieutenant Colonel Albert Lloyd reviewed the payroll records and indicated that for 1972-73 and 1973-74 Bush completed slightly more than 50 'points' worth of service and thus fulfilled his requirement. However, critics note that the '50 point' standard actually applies to whether or not a particular service year is counted towards military retirement benefits. The National Guard actually required attendance at monthly drills (their recruitment ads still state "just one weekend a month") and allowed only a maximum of 10% of drills to be excused in the event of emergencies. President Bush has stated that the drills he missed in 1972 were made up in January of 1973. However, the recently released payroll records indicate that those January 1973 attendance dates were actually applied as pre-service of drills he was scheduled to attend in February and March of 1973. Further, even if the January 'make up' sessions were applied to 1972 that would result in President Bush then having failed to complete the required service for 1973 and a total of ten months worth of drill being successfully completed for 1972... two months short of the requirement and beyond the maximum 10% absence rate which could be excused.

The Air National Guard used a points system and required pilots to attain at least 50 points a year. In his first year, he earned 253 points. In his second year, he earned 340 points. He earned 137 points the next year, and and 112 the year after that. In 1973, Bush asked for time off to work on a Senate campaign in Alabama. Such requests were not unusual. Bush earned only 56 points that year. When Bush requested an honorable discharge after 5 years and 4 months to go to Harvard Business School, he had logged enough flight hours to cover his six months. In fact, at a time with a glut of pilots with the end of the Vietnam War, Bush was doing the Air National Guard a favor. At the time, excess pilots were being assigned desk jobs.

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