Outrage at actions bordering on treason, all's fair and game with charges that at worst would show Bush tried to stay out of Vietnam. This is what the left thinks is 'fair and balanced'.
Hell, 99% of the young men my age tried to leverage for best advantage with regard to Vietnam. If Bush Sr. got him in to this national guard, and I don't think he did, it wouldn't be a crime.
It is interesting to know that many of the U.S. prisoners of war in the North were pilots. I tend to doubt any national guard pilots served in Vietnam, but you never know where you might wind up should hostilities break out.
One thing that the Dems never mention is that it takes a fair amount of smarts to pilot jet aircraft. It's probably not that smart to keep mentioning that Bush was a fighter jet pilot, but then nobody accused the left of having a clue did they.
I must be close to your age, and I know exactly what you're talking about!
And we both now that John Kerry got FOUR DEFERMENTS while he was in college, and asked for the FIFTH one, was turned down, and enlisted in the Naval RESERVE so he wouldn't be drafted into the Army!
B-i-L's father pulled strings and had him stationed in Germany. It went on all over the states and at all levels.
Gore is a massive phony. Kerry is a massive phony. GW is the real deal.
Give me GW's real deal vs Kerry's phony deal any day.
Wrong. Here's one listed from the Texas Military Miltary Museum:
Bobby Hodges, of the TEXAS ANG flew the F102 in Vietnam the same month that W reported for duty!
The stupids feft-wing Kerry sycophants won't report this kind of stuff. It doesn't fit Dan Rather's HATE BUSH template:
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Major General Bobby W. Hodges enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in June 1953. After primary, basic and advanced pilot training, he spent two and a half-years at Misawa Air Base, Japan, with the 4th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. While stationed at Misawa, he was a member of the 4th Fighter Squadron’s Rocket Team flying F-86D’s. In Far East Air Force competition, the team placed second and General Hodges tied for first place in the individual category.
In September 1957, General Hodges became an air technician with the 147th Fighter Interceptor Group stationed at Ellington AFB in Houston, Texas. He served in a variety of command and staff positions and in January 1968, he was named Deputy Commander for Operations and Base Operations Supervisor.
In July 1968, General Hodges began a 90-day voluntary tour of duty in Southeast Asia. He participated in the “Palace Alert” program of the Air Force, a program using Air National Guard pilots flying F-102 interceptor aircraft in Southeast Asia. During his tour of duty, General Hodges flew 51 combat missions out of South Vietnam and Northern Thailand for a total of 101 combat flying hours.
In May 1969, he assumed command of the 147th Fighter Interceptor Group and under his command the unit carried out its air defense mission of the upper Texas Gulf Coast in an exceptional manner. He also assumed command of Ellington AFB as an additional duty when the Air Force closed out its host base responsibility in March 1975. He continued in this dual role until his reassignment as commander of the 136th Air Refueling Wing, Texas Air National Guard, Hensley Field.
Under General Hodges command, the 136th Air Refueling Wing accomplished two significant deployments to the European Theater. During those deployments, General Hodges was cited for outstanding leadership as the wing accomplished 356 tactical airlift employment sorties, carrying 701.6 tons of cargo, 2,056 passengers and dropped 1,374 paratroopers…with no safety deviations.
On 14 June 1984, General Hodges was selected to be the Commander, Texas Air National Guard at Camp Mabry, Austin Texas, and served in this position until 1 December 1984. He was then assigned as the Air National Guard Assistant to the Commander-in-Chief of the Military Airlift Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. In this capacity, General Hodges functioned as the liaison officer between the Air National Guard and the Military Airlift Command until his retirement on 31 December 1989.
General Hodges was a command pilot with over 7,400 flying hours, of which 4,250 hours has been flown in single-engine jet fighter aircraft. His decorations and awards included the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, two Air Medals, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Lone Star Distinguished Medal, and numerous other Federal and state awards.
General Hodges is life member of the National Guard Association of Texas. He served on the board of directors of NGAT for three years (1967-1969), and is a charter member of the Texas Guard Legislative Task Force.
General Bobby Hodges was truly a dedicated patriot and citizen-soldier who for more than 44 years provided outstanding leadership and distinguished service to his state and nation.
I thought I read somewhere recently that there were pilots from the President's ANG group who WERE sent to Vietnam.