Bush: A soldier' s president : Why and How the Military Salutes President Bush

Have you noticed a difference in the salute given by our military men and women as President Bush walks by? Most folks would not notice anything, but military people see it right away.

Watch: when President Bush leaves his helicopter or Air Force One, the honour guards salute and face him as he disembarks, then turn their faces towards him as he passes by. They continue to salute his back as he walks away. This kind of salute has not been seen in the previous eight years, though it is customary courtesy to the Commander-in-Chief.

You see, soldiers aren’t required to turn and face the President as they salute. They are not required to salute his back. They are only required to salute. They can remain face-forward the entire time. And that is what they did during Bill Clinton’s entire Presidency. Our soldiers were forced to obey Clinton’s orders, but they were not forced to respect him. ...From their salutes, we can surmise that they did not.

Why is such respect afforded to President Bush? He doesn’t even know how to bite his lower lip and he gets teary-eyed whenever he speaks! The following incident from Major General Van Antwerp may give us an insight. Gen. Antwerp is president of the Officers’ Christian Fellowship.

He lost nearly all his staff when the Pentagon was attacked Sept. 11. His executive officer LTC Brian Birdwell was badly burned and in the hospital when President Bush visited him. Our President spent time and prayed with Brian. As he was getting ready to leave, he went to the foot of Brian’s bed and saluted. He held his salute until Brian was able to raise his burned and bandaged arm, ever so slowly, in return.

The Commander-in-Chief never initiates a salute, except in the case of a Congressional Medal of Honour winner. The injured soldier did not have to return the salute. But he did, out of respect to his President — a Soldier’s President. Congressman JC Watts (R. Oklahoma) said, “Character is doing the right thing when nobody is looking. In this time of war and danger, I am so grateful to have a President whom the soldiers salute — fully.”

On Special Report with Brit Hume, at the close of the show when they normally have some funny video clip, they showed President Bush and the First Lady on their way to Marine One to leave for Camp David for the weekend. As the video starts, the First Lady is leading the way into the helicopter with the spaniel dog on the leash, and the president is right behind her with the Scotty on the leash. As the First Lady entered the chopper, the Marine at the gangway saluted and held his salute.

The Scottie the President was walking decided it wanted to squat right when he got to steps. The president pulled on its leash, but the stubborn Scottie persisted in squatting. The President bent down and scooped up the pooch and entered Marine One. After he entered, the Marine cut his salute and returned to the position of attention.

Moments later the president re-emerged from the helicopter and out onto the steps. The Marine was standing at attention, head and eyes straight ahead. The president leaned over and tapped him on the left arm. The startled Marine turned his body toward the president and received his returned salute!

I was so impressed by this true act of respect for our military people by our president! He really does get it. Most any other person of his stature would have just continued his journey, disregarding the neglected return salute. Not George W. Bush. He is earning the respect of the military community, not expecting it — as most would

In a society that expects chastity and fidelity, those who are either too weak to resist temptations or too contemptuous of society's norms end up as either sheep or wolves: either mindless members of the herd, or predators who take what they can and give nothing.
Inner strength and outward respect. These are the values that a leader holds. Unlike the sheep or wolves, they act out a higher script- one of decency, of self-sacrifice, of public honor... Of society.

And in the pretense, it becomes reality.

I still don't get it. DO you mean that the sheep who are too weak to resist temptation do so anyway because of the expectation of fidelity by the crowd? And in the pretense of being virtuous, the sheep actually become so? Or is the pretense note referring to the leaders?

Thanks for the post, Ernest at the Beach! (and for all your work on the California power debacle).

The Clintons were fond of using the White House military guards as butlers. Hillary Clinton made no bones about her loathing of the military. Her friends called Marines something akin to out of control macho lunatics. Several of the Chopper One crew members met untimely deaths. Several of the military escorts for Clinton on his storied trip to an Aircraft Carrier (where some of the seamen wanted to show signs of disrespect to him) also met untimely deaths.

The Clintone used and abused those in the military just as they used and abused any and every good entity with which they were associated.

It (their use and abuse of the miliary) began with the Clinton administration's lack of supply of what thos soldiers in Somalia needed when the UN "commanders" were heeded instead of American fighting men on the scene.

It carried through to the wag the war in Yugoslavia and ended with the USS Cole attack with no response.

Admiral Boorda was suicided during the Clinton term in office. The Pentagon became the dumping ground for inconvenient people in the Clinton administration. (Perhaps Admiral Boorda became weary of such use and abuse and was relieved of his life - and command - the oldfashioned Clintonista way. Read the Starr report for more info about Admiral Boorda and one Monica Lewinsky....over at the Pentagon. One might think Admiral Boorda decided he could not be silent any longer about Clinton Bimbos being dumped into the Pentagon......by a Pevert in office! Such an attitude and a determination to go public about it could have resulted in an Arkancide!..but I speculate here.

Back to facts. When Clinton was inaugurated, one of his comrades pointed to the military aircraft flying over and said, "They're ours now."

Yes, our military was "theirs" - to be defunded, deshipped, and demoralized.

It is a testimony to the strength that Presidents Reagan and Bush I left for our military - AND to the members serving themselves - that the Clinton destruction of our military did not totally succeed.

Of course they salute Pres GW Bush! He is FOR THEM and FOR THE AMERICA they serve - and they know it - and we know it -our enemies know it. I believe our enemies KNEW how weak Clinton had left us and were counting on us not being able to mount any kind of effective response after 9/11. President Bush always talks about how Americans in every area of our country and our nation's life proved our enemies wrong. He NEVER talks about himself. But, (would he could hear us) Mr. President, it is YOUR LEADERSHIP that leads to those salutes and to the respect they signal!

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