"As the State Plans Officer for the Texas National Guard, I was on full-time duty at Camp Mabry when Dan Bartlett was cleansing the George W Bush file prior to GW's Presidential announcement. For most soldiers at Camp Mabry, this was a generally known event. The archives were closely scrutinized to make sure that the Bush autobiography plans and the record did not directly contradict each other. In essence it was the script of the autobiography which Dan Bartlett and his small team used to scrub a file to be released. This effort was further involved by General Daniel James and Chief of Staff William W. Goodwin at Camp Mabry."

-- Bill Burkett - contact: (915-673-0429)
 
 

Where's George? 
News Release: Help George W. Bush find 1972, 1973

NOVEMBER 2 2000 - George Bush has lost a year of his youth and needs your help to find it. Between May 1972 and October 1974 George W. Bush seems to have lost:
1) A year of his service in the Air National Guard (ANG), 
2) His eligibility to fly F-102 jet fighters( see footnote 1) (See official document. Full URLs in footnotes), 
3) The directions to his military doctor's office right before his mandatory annual flight physical, and 
4) The means to travel to his Denver Air Force Reserve (AFR) Obligated Reserve Unit punishment detail  (see footnote 2) to which he apparently never reported, although he supposedly "served" his final 15-month enlistment there. 

Lots of people didn't see George Bush during this year, including retired General William Turpinseed (see document 3) to whom young 1st Lt. Bush was ordered to report, and the Commanders of the Texas Air National Guard Unit (see document 4) in which he was supposedly serving. You can imagine how disturbing this must be to our potential Commander-in-Chief to have so thoroughly lost a year of his own military service (see document 5) when he wants American voters to give him the right to ask young Americans to stick to the terms of their military enlistments. 

Now two different Vietnam Veterans groups are offering a total of $2000 in rewards if you can help find Governor Bush's missing year of National Guard service. (see footnote 6) So far no one has claimed the reward.

It's frustrating: At least when you're looking for Waldo, you know he'll be somewhere in the picture. George Bush doesn't seem to have been anywhere and again we must ask:

Where's George?
Is this a "Stealth Military" program? Did he fly below the radar?

Of course, this could be all wrong. Although there's no conclusive proof that Bush served between May 1972 and May 1973, there's a simple way for him to complete his job interview with the American people-a job interview for the most important job in the world-the Presidency of the United States. So right now, before it's too late, while the candidates are still applying for the job, citizens (his potential employers) request more information. 

Veterans groups, emailers all around the US, and columnists for the Arizona Daily Star, (see footnote 7) the New York Observer (see footnote 8) and the Boston Globe are all asking is this simple question:

"Will you, former 1st Lt. George W. Bush, and potential US President George W. Bush, please release your private military records so we can all rest assured that you are deserving of our votes on November 7th and of our trust for the next four years? "

There are very good precedents for Governor Bush providing this important information to American voters.

Precedents:
Governor Bush's private military records can only be released with his permission, but they contain the most essential information about how he served-the records of commendations, comments by superiors about the quality of service and the records of any disciplinary actions or boards of inquiry. Bush's public military records, which have been released under a FOIA request,9 show the conflicting information that caused the request to Governor Bush to release his private military records. 

Further Details:

1) On September 29, 1972 Air National Guard orders "suspending 1st Lt. George W. Bush from flying status are confirmed.... Reason for Suspension: Failure to accomplish annual medical exam." (See footnote 10)

2) Bush's initial temporary transfer to Alabama was denied because "An obligated Reservist can be assigned to a specific Ready Reserve position only. (See footnote 11) Therefore, he is ineligible for assignment to an Air Reserve Squadron". Nonetheless, Bush reapplied, was accepted by the commander of the mail unit in Alabama, and moved to Alabama to work on a Senate campaign. 

3) According to a Boston Globe Story on May 23, 2000.  "In his final 18 months of military service in 1972 and 1973, Bush did not fly at all. And for much of that time, Bush was all but unaccounted for:12 For a full year, there is no record that he showed up for the periodic drills required of part-time guardsmen....From May to November 1972, Bush was in Alabama working in a US Senate campaign, and was required to attend drills at an Air National Guard unit in Montgomery. But there is no evidence in his record that he did so. And William Turnipseed, the retired general who commanded the Alabama unit back then, said in an interview last week that Bush never appeared for duty there." 

4) Also, the tattered piece of attendance record which lists no months years or even Bush's name of service which the Bush campaign presented as evidence of attending Air National Guard training is from the Air Force Reserve punishment unit and not the Air National Guard. 13 Note the ARF (Air Reserve Force) listing at the top, rather than the ANG designator, which would indicate it, was from the Air National Guard.

5) In the Fall 1973, as an automatic disciplinary action, Bush was reassigned to the Obligated Reserve Section in Denver, because he disobeyed orders to show up for a mandatory flight physical and therefore was unable to fulfill the last two years of his six-year obligation as an Air National Guard jet pilot. 

For Interviews

More source information and interviews: For a remarkable show or news story, interview former Air National Guard pilot Robert A. Rogers and researcher Marty Heldt as they lead you through the 160 pages of documents uncovered in their Freedom of Information inquiries into bush's official military records. Find out why they think it is imperative that Bush gives permission for the release of his personal military records before the election. Both Rogers and Heldt say their research shows such huge holes in his National Guard record Bush MUST release his personal military records before the election, because our job interview with the potential Commander-in-Chief won't be complete until he does. 

Go to http://www.cis.net/~coldfeet/document.htm to view Bush military documents released under the Freedom of Information Act which show the conflicting information that produced requests to release his private military records. Voluntary release of personal military records for the period of his enlistment from 1968 through 1974 will provide information to assess the following events:

1. A September 29, 1972 Air National Guard confirming orders “suspending 1st Lt. George W. Bush from flying status are confirmed....Reason for Suspension: Failure to accomplish annual medical exam.” 

2. Bush’s initial temporary transfer to Alabama was denied because “An obligated Reservist can be assigned to a specific Ready Reserve position only. Therefore, he is ineligible for assignment to an Air Reserve Squadron". Nonetheless, Bush reapplied, was accepted by the commander of the mail unit in Alabama, and moved to Alabama to work on a Senate campaign.  http://www.cis.net/~coldfeet/doc5.gif

3. According to a Boston Globe Story on May 23, 2000. 
“In his final 18 months of military service in 1972 and 1973, Bush did not fly at all. And for much of that time, Bush was all but unaccounted for: For a full year, there is no record that he showed up for the periodic drills required of part-time guardsmen.
“Bush, who declined to be interviewed on the issue, said through a spokesman that he has ''some recollection'' of attending drills that year, but maybe not consistently.
“From May to November 1972, Bush was in Alabama working in a US Senate campaign, and was required to attend drills at an Air National Guard unit in Montgomery. But there is no evidence in his 
record that he did so. And William Turnipseed, the retired general who commanded the Alabama unit back then, said in an interview last week that Bush never appeared for duty there.” 

4. In Fall 1973, as an automatic disciplinary action, Bush was reassigned to the Obligated Reserve Section in Denver, because he disobeyed orders to show up for a mandatory flight physical and therefore was unable to fulfill the last two years of his six-year obligation as an Air National Guard jet fighter pilot.

View Documents

Documents photocopies:
First: Document about George W. Bush, redacted for "administrative reasons"

Second: Document: Agreement signed by George W. Bush to accept military flying assignments after training (reneged on after disobeying orders)

Third: Document: Order to suspend George Bush from flying for failing to obey an order

Fourth: Document: Evidence that George W. Bush was allowed to substitute "civilian duties" for flying duties (Viet Nam era) following his refusal to take physical and drug test

Fifth: Document: Statement specifying disciplinary measures, singed by George W. Bush

Sixth: Document: Assignment of George W. Bush to disciplinary unit in Denver
 

Footnotes
1  Bush was suspended by military order. Official document

2 Enlistment papers specifying punishments for not fulfilling Air National Guard obligations 

3 Boston  Globe Article Oct 31 2000

4  His two Texas Commanders statements: they never saw him during the 5/72-5/73 period. He was assigned, perhaps through political influence, to a civilian unit (during the war) after disobeying an order.

5 Boston Globe article Oct 30 2000

6 Vets Want Proof of Bush Service, Birmingham News

7 Bush's Service Record, go to archives for Oct. 24, 2000 in the Arizona Daily Star

8 George W.'s Troubling Flights of Fancy

9 To look  at 30  pages of Bush's FOIA records

10 Order suspending Bush from flying. 

11 Order refusing Bush's transfer. Bush was not eligible for transfer, tried again, perhaps with political influence, and left for civilian duties before his term was completed. 

12 May 2000 Boston Globe article 

13 Purported proof of Bush's military service for 1972-73. Document is nearly blank and does not identify who it belongs to. Note that most of the dates and Bush's name (except for the "W")have been torn off.

Other sites with information, some more partisan than others...

Washington Post article, Nov 3, 2000
"The Bush campaign points to a torn piece of paper in his Guard records, a statement of points Bush apparently earned in 1972-73, although most of the dates and Bush's name except for the "W" have been torn off..." The article goes on to say that the torn sheet of paper is shown as evidence by the Bush people that he satisfied his requirements, but that is contradicted by a written report signed by two superiors.

Bob Rogers' Overview on Bush's Non-attendance 

Bob Rogers' Latest Summary

Martin Heldt's Home Page on Bush's Missing Years

Martin Heldt's Chronology of The Problem

 

Is this not the record of a flagrant draft dodger? Fearless leader, my ass - pampered, spoiled, cowardly bum is far more apt. As a veteran this really frosts my ass. And I'm sick and tired of the Bush lovers painting him as something he most definitely is NOT: a real patriot. Suck it up, Bushies, I know it smell's real bad, but he's your hero...have a good look at him...this is our "Commander in Chief"?

-- Zzzzz (asleep@the.wheel), September 27, 2001

Answers

Zzzzz, are you getting it on with Cherri?

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), September 27, 2001.

Umm...I don't think so, Lars...should I be? Some sort of soul-mate thing, ya think? I'm such a slut for any woman that might also suspect, as I do, that Bush is probably the Anti-Christ incarnate, tho...whatever that is.

I just get so nauseous when I see Bush the 'Commander in Chief' on TV...it's much worse, for me, than Syrup of Ipecac...

-- Zzzzz (asleep@the.wheel), September 27, 2001.

Lars,

LOL.

-- J (Y2J@home.comm), September 27, 2001.

Never fear, Zzzzzz. Bush's decisions will not be affected by cowardice. He will be the best-protected human in the USA, come what may.

Under the circumstances, even if he were a physical coward (which I doubt) he should be able to look and act as brave as anyone else. He won't be on the front line.

I also think it is a big mistake to equate Bush's mushy military record with simple cowardice. A kind of privileged irresponsibility, yes. Cowardice, no.

-- Little Nipper (canis@minor.net), September 27, 2001.

Well, yes...okay...conceeded, Little Nipper. I'm truly sorry. I recant. He may not be a physical coward. But - he's still a privilaged, pampered, coddled, arrogant, ignorant, amoral, unethical, draft dodging, lying little bitch, tho...

-- Zzzzz (asleep@the.wheel), September 27, 2001.

Well, yes...okay...conceeded, Little Nipper. I'm truly sorry. I recant. He may not be a physical coward. But - he's still a privilaged, pampered, coddled, arrogant, ignorant, amoral, unethical, draft dodging, lying little bitch, tho...

-- Zzzzz (asleep@the.wheel), September 27, 2001

Boy, this sounds just like the little liberal coward, Klinton! Warts and all, I am very thankful that Bush is our commander in chief during this crisis as klinton would still be wringing his hands, hiding under interns skirts, begging Hillary to make things better...

-- liberals- (ass_sucking@morons.com), September 27, 2001.

This is not a time for partisanship.

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), September 24, 2001.

-- Head Slap! (duh@duh.com), September 27, 2001.

Zzzzz, you're gonna piss your new pal porter, off with this kind of questioning. Everything is as it should be you know.... He may even tell you like he told Al-d; you can only post once a day.

-- KoFE (your@town.USSA), September 27, 2001.

ZZZZ, how did you feel the first time you saw Clinton salute?

-- Maria (anon@ymous.com), September 27, 2001.

I got up on the wrong side of the bed today, so Bush has gotta suffer for it, it's just gotta be his fault, everything has gotta be... ;-)

Zzzzz, you're gonna piss your new pal porter, off with this kind of questioning. Everything is as it should be you know.... He may even tell you like he told Al-d; you can only post once a day.

Well, I didn't know that he was the moderator of this thread, or what said person's politics might be; but no matter. I only know one living soul, personally, on this entire forum (or even by reputation, yet, tho I'm learning). I probably should just post once a day, or even just go into deep lurking and seethe silently - I'm sure the rest of you are probably already considering having me killed for disturbing the obviously gentle rhythms of this place, and so often. I apologize. I'll try to restrain my mad dog behavior better, from now on.

I'm surprised that you regulars have not settled on some appropriate nickname or label for me yet (beside the obvious and common ones already offered by a few); perhaps you have (dare I be so vain and grandiose as to hope?) and unlike me (and my love of "personalizing" my rants) you are just too kind to slap it on me thus far. Maybe you're still discovering and marvelling that I'll take after just about anything. Nothing is sacred to me...or above my haughty reproach, everything is fair game...even me, myself; that's part of the fun, too, of course...

Maria: I felt pretty much exactly the same way about Clinton, to be honest. Now, Gore was another matter. Being a veteran myself, and all other issues aside, I've always felt that at least that guy had the balls to 'show up' - and to show up "in boots". That counts for something with me, and to all veterans, I think. He could have easily avoided it, like Clinton and Bush, but he went; and as an enlisted man, no less, not some REMF officer (and despite having a degree from Harvard); there's some major points given out for that, and that alone, in my circles. I have no such respect for Clinton or Bush, in this regard. And of those two, I see Bush as the more deceptive of them, by far. He's not just a draft dodger, but he still lies about it, Clinton did not, not like Bush does.

-- Zzzzz (asleep@the.wheel), September 27, 2001.

DUMBYA IS A

CORPORATE-COCK-SUCKING

SPOILED-BRAT WUSSY!!

-- conservatives are worthless shits (i hope bin baby @ kills. the lousy motherfucker), September 27, 2001.

Hawk need his meds again.

-- (dove@flyin.high), September 27, 2001.

There are none so blind as those who choose not to see.

This morning I watched Bush tell the CIA 3 times about how ben Laden misunderestimated their comander in chief. He now has his stock of "statements" that he uses in each situation, often innappropriatly, but hey....he has memorized them!

-- Cherri (jessam6@home.com), September 27, 2001.

There's a word that describes people like you Cherri, and that word is- hypocrite.

-- Gary (gcphelps@yahoo.com), September 28, 2001.

"misunderestimated"!

-- (Roland@hatemail.com), September 28, 2001.

But in invoking the memory of Vietnam, Gore has also ignited discontent over his own military service. Vietnam veterans, in particular, have objected to what they see as Gore posing as a front-line "grunt" when he was really, as one of them put it, safely "in the rear with the gear."

link

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If combat experience is your highest criterion, I guess you would prefer Bush-the-elder?

They say his five months "in country" were far less than the normal 12-month tour of duty and that his assignment as an Army journalist attached to an engineering brigade kept him far from the shooting, something not mentioned in the TV spots.

Many vets give Gore points for signing up at all, since he could have sought shelter in graduate school or, arguably, used his own political clout to land a spot stateside in the National Guard. But others see Gore's enlistment as a calculated risk. They charge that the Army would never have allowed then-U.S. Sen. Albert Gore's son to stray into the line of fire.

"It stinks that Al Gore is using this `I-went-to-Vietnam' bulls--- when his daddy got him a short tour," said retired Army Maj. Glenn MacDonald of Phoenix. "I wish he'd shut up about it."

MacDonald, a Democrat, said he was inclined to vote for Gore until he saw the "1969" ad and it infuriated him. He said he has spoken to "at least 10 other" veterans who are Democrats who feel the same way.

"Let me tell you, not one of them is going to go for Gore," MacDonald said.

They say his five months "in country" were far less than the normal 12-month tour of duty and that his assignment as an Army journalist attached to an engineering brigade kept him far from the shooting, something not mentioned in the TV spots.

Many vets give Gore points for signing up at all, since he could have sought shelter in graduate school or, arguably, used his own political clout to land a spot stateside in the National Guard. But others see Gore's enlistment as a calculated risk. They charge that the Army would never have allowed then-U.S. Sen. Albert Gore's son to stray into the line of fire.

"It stinks that Al Gore is using this `I-went-to-Vietnam' bulls--- when his daddy got him a short tour," said retired Army Maj. Glenn MacDonald of Phoenix. "I wish he'd shut up about it."

MacDonald, a Democrat, said he was inclined to vote for Gore until he saw the "1969" ad and it infuriated him. He said he has spoken to "at least 10 other" veterans who are Democrats who feel the same way.

"Let me tell you, not one of them is going to go for Gore," MacDonald said.

e memory of Vietnam, Gore has also ignited discontent over his own military service. Vietnam veterans, in particular, have objected to what they see as Gore posing as a front-line "grunt" when he was really, as one of them put it, safely "in the rear with the gear."

They say his five months "in country" were far less than the normal 12-month tour of duty and that his assignment as an Army journalist attached to an engineering brigade kept him far from the shooting, something not mentioned in the TV spots.

Many vets give Gore points for signing up at all, since he could have sought shelter in graduate school or, arguably, used his own political clout to land a spot stateside in the National Guard. But others see Gore's enlistment as a calculated risk. They charge that the Army would never have allowed then-U.S. Sen. Albert Gore's son to stray into the line of fire.

"It stinks that Al Gore is using this `I-went-to-Vietnam' bulls--- when his daddy got him a short tour," said retired Army Maj. Glenn MacDonald of Phoenix. "I wish he'd shut up about it."

MacDonald, a Democrat, said he was inclined to vote for Gore until he saw the "1969" ad and it infuriated him. He said he has spoken to "at least 10 other" veterans who are Democrats who feel the same way.

"Let me tell you, not one of them is going to go for Gore," MacDonald said.

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), September 28, 2001.

off

-- (off@off.off), September 28, 2001.

Lars: How do you know that MacDonald wasn't a REMF himself? (Rear-Echelon Mother Fucker) Or just some resentful nut with his own ax to grind or unknown agenda?

And I do know what Gore's "MOS" (military occupational specialty) was, but if you think that there even was any "Front" or "Rear" over there, you don't know very much about Viet Nam at all. There were hundreds of miles of VC tunnels directly under the whole of the 24th Infantry Division base at Cu Chi, just a little northwest of Saigon (tens of thousands of Americans were based there) for instance - and you could get blasted by some guy popping up out of some "spider hole" just in the course of walking from your "safe" billets to the "safe" PX for a haircut. It happened all the time. There was no "safe area" anywhere over there. So the "in the rear with the gear" argument is just so much pure crap, in my book. Try that one on the sailors that were serving offshore, if you dare.

Gore showed up. That's what matters. He showed up. Bush most decidedly did not. Gore's daddy did not get him a "short tour" - better check your facts hard there, pal, there's a lot more to that story, and it all goes in Gore's favor. Bush couldn't even make his Guard drills, and he was "discipled" for that, on the record, but his connections protected him anyway. And tell me: why didn't Gore accept a commission? Why did he serve as a spec 4? Can you answer that one?

I frankly don't give a flying fuck what anybody else says. As far as I'm concerned Gore has shown real "character" and "integrity", in his military service. And that is precisely what Bush has FAILED at ANY time to demonstrate, in this regard.

Call his "sacrifice" a "calculated risk" if you wish. I see him as another "foxhole buddy", and I always will.

-- Zzzzz (asleep@the.wheel), September 28, 2001.

Lars: From your own link -

"I'm sure he had as much clout as George Bush did to stay out and join the National Guard, but he chose active duty," said Edmund Cournoyer Jr. of Springfield, Mass., who served in the Navy from 1973 to 1983. "You had no choice how long you stayed in Vietnam. It's not how long you were there, it's that you were there at all."

Judith Tripler Katz of Tabernacle, N.J., who served 13 months in Vietnam as an Army nurse, agreed. "Do you remember the line in the Creedence Clearwater Revival song ("Fortunate Son") where John Fogerty sings, `I ain't no senator's son'?" Katz asked. "Al Gore could have easily avoided the draft. Instead he enlisted and did what thousands of his less politically connected peers had to do. I believe this is a hallmark of a leader I can trust."

I guess that pretty much says it all: George Dubya Bush is not by virtue of his obvious and longstanding "character defects" a "leader I can trust".

-- Zzzzz (asleep@the.wheel), September 28, 2001.

I agree that Al Gore was more in harm's way that Geo W bush or Wm J Clinton. But not much. According to this account, he was in Viet Nam as an Army "journalist" for a grand total of 5 months. Do you think that his Senator Dad was not watching out for him? This was a relatively safe position. He didn't walk point thru the jungle like my cousin or maybe like you.

If you think combat experience is the most important criterion for a President, then I assume you supported Kerry or Kerrey or McCain. I assume you supported the WWII war vet President Bush (the first). I assume you supported Bob Dole.

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), September 28, 2001.

This entire topic was not about what criterion I "required in a President" - it was about what criterion I judge a person a draft dodger by.

-- Zzzzz (asleep@the.wheel), September 28, 2001.

It's about the wisdom of following the wisdom of a man that I fully believe to be a draft dodger, in every sense of the word, as he "leads" our country and our military forces now, on this "holy crusade"...it's about the demonsrated character of a particular man.

-- Zzzzz (asleep@the.wheel), September 28, 2001.

On Wednesday, a most amazing story came to us from Rich Galen's online news letter called Mullings. It was a very heartwarming and touching story about the president of the United States visiting Lieutenant Colonel Brian Birdwell in a burn unit. This soldier had been burned over 50% of his body in the terrorist assault on the Pentagon. There were no cameras or microphones around to record this, as a spontaneous George W. Bush saluted the junior officer and held the salute until the badly injured young man could respond.

This is the exact opposite, so we were told, of military protocol, which calls for junior officers to salute their superiors. So by saluting the injured lieutenant colonel, and holding it until it was returned, the president elevated his rank above Bush's own as commander-in-chief. You can read the complete story below, and once you do, you'll see why it meant so much to me to receive an e-mail Thursday from Lieutenant Colonel Birdwell's brother thanking me for relaying the story.

"I cannot tell you how grateful and truly proud I am that when Brian started to return that salute, despite his wounds, the president held his salute firmly and thereby permitted my brother the honor of demonstrating his and the true character of so very many others of our fighting men and women. Indeed, you should know that it was this very character that likely saved Brian's life in the first place. As Brian crawled through the fire, certain brave men and women pulled him from the carnage, carried him out to the parking lot, then into the adjoining street."

The e-mail closes saying: "The simple act of holding a salute evidences a quality of character and leadership in our president sorely needed in the coming conflict. So on behalf of my little brother - a true patriot of whom I cannot be prouder - I venture to say that his willingness to endure the pain and the discomfort required to return the president's salute evidences an even greater willingness and resolve on the part of his compatriots to follow wherever the president leads, confident that he has the country's, and therefore their own, best interests at heart.

Sincerely, Wade Birdwell older brother of Lieutenant Colonel Brian Birdwell

LINK

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), September 28, 2001.