Did George Bush Go AWOL from the Guard?

George W. Bush campaigned for president as a veteran supporting the military. Most of us recall the contentious military service controversy which nearly engulfed Bush’s 2004 presidential run. The truth turns out to be just as CBS attempted to report it in 2004 – George Bush did not serve his 6 years guard duty and he covered up his record through destruction of records.

Dan Rather learned the hard way about who really writes the news in America – the plutocrats and the Bush Crime Syndicate. But as a CIA tool himself, he should not have been surprised. Russ Baker, author of Family of Secrets, picks up where CBS left off by exposing the mendacious and criminal destruction of Bush’s military record.

In 1968, fresh out of Yale (Skull & Bones) and eager to avoid Viet Nam, Bush landed a plum position in the Texas Air National Guard 147th Fighter Wing stationed in Houston. He would join other privileged sons of America’s plutocrats in what was known as the Champagne Unit. Bush managed to preempt 2 candidates already slated for the 2 slots as well as jump over thousands of other candidates previously in line. Of course, Bush needed to thank Ben Barnes who was then Texas Speaker of the House. Baby Bush eventually did so with a lucrative state lottery contract which he had to steal from its previous owner, GTech Corporation.

Just in case you did not know that George Bush was speeciiall he was provided private flying lessons at a cost of over 1 million USD to American tax payers and the only guardsman among 200 Air Force officers at his initial training. And to rub it in, Bush received a direct commission as 2LT – an extraordinary and unprecedented action especially for someone who scored a paltry 25% on his pilot aptitude test. These acts in Bush’s behalf were essentially his father’s graduation gift to him.

Yet the favoritism does not end there. After his 6 week basic training, Bush was granted two months off to campaign for Florida Congressman Edward Gurney. After the campaign he completed his full time obligation and pilot training in 1971 after which he turned week-end warrior – or at least he was supposed to.

In early 1972, Baker reports that Bush started having trouble flying - at one point requring 3 passes to land his fighter. He flew his last flight with the Guard on April 16, 1972. He had previously been ordered back to a two pilot training plane. So ended the illustrious military career of George W. Bush who left two years unfulfilled on his Guard obligation while hundreds of thousands of his age cohort served in Vietnam and 55,000 died.

Unfortunately for baby George, he needed to cover up his embarrassing Guard record – especially for his presidential ambitions – but this time George did not need so much of Dad’s help because on his way to the White House, he had a layover in the Texas Governor’s mansion from where he could plot the destruction of incriminating records.

In 1997, Karen Hughes, communications director, and Dan Bartlett, Guard liaison, planned to visit the records center to screen Bush’s guard records in anticipation of a book on the Governor. Bush’s chief of staff, Joe Allbaugh, ordered the Adjustant General of the Texas Guard, Daniel James, to destroy incriminating records. LTC Bill Burkett found 20-40 pages of discarded records in a waste basket. One of the missing records included a counseling statement explaining Bush’s grounding and reduction in pay rate.

In 2000, the Boston Globe reported that none of Bush’s commanders recalled him serving after 1972, when he was grounded and reassigned. The reason they could not recall his presence was that Bush had terminated his service – as you do when you are well connected.

What is sad about this episode of criminality and mendacity is that the American public never thought to critically examine Bush's service record and accepted the bullying of reporters who sought to uncover the truth. Thus Mencken's American Boob lives up to his name.

Reference

Family of Secrets, Russ Baker

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