Posted on 09/15/2004 12:56:42 PM PDT by CHARLITE
Left-Wing Allegations and Fraudulent Documents Response to DNC Video “Fortunate Son”
(NOTE: This is Colonel Wambough's attendum to his article posted here on FREE REPUBLIC: BUSH'S HONORABLE AIR NATIONAL GUARD SERVICE)
DNC - Kerry Campaign – CBS 60 Minutes Left-Wing Allegations and Fraudulent Documents Response to DNC Video “Fortunate Son
The Democrat National Committee (DNC), the Kerry Campaign, CBS 60 Minutes and their liberal media supporters have launched the fifth major attack on President Bush’s service in the Air National Guard (ANG). The purpose of this attack is to enhance Kerry’s election prospects by dishonoring President Bush’s service in the Air National Guard (ANG) and undermining his credibility as Commander-In-Chief of our Armed Forces.
Concurrent with the airing of Dan Rather’s (CBS’ 60 Minutes program on 09/08/2004) hit piece on President Bush, DNC’s Chairman Terry McAuliffe and Senator Tom Harkin piled on with vitriolic attacks on President Bush’s service record. CBS’ program (using fraudulent documents to launch their attack on President Bush) served as the kick-off call for a coordinated nationwide attack on Bush’s ANG record. “Operation Fortunate Son” is the code name that Terry McAuliffe and the DNC have given for their attacks on George W. Bush’s service in the Guard.
Lying Allegation: The DNC alleges that President Bush falsely claimed he served in the United States Air Force and therefore lied about his military service record. This is the DNC’s specific allegation: "George W. Bush's campaign literature claimed that he 'served in the U.S. Air Force.' The only problem? He didn't," "George Bush has a clear pattern of lying about his military service,"
Response to Allegation:
· When I went through flight training in the United States Air Force (USAF), we had Air National Guard (ANG) Officers in my pilot training squadron. For economic reasons, the ANG turns to the Air Force to do its undergraduate pilot training. President Bush served in the Air Force for more than a year (as an ANG officer) while going through USAF flight training.
· Also, the United States has exchange officers from other countries such as the United Kingdom (UK) that come to the U.S. to fly in our Air Force flying squadrons. Upon return to the UK, these Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots would say they served in the USAF (as an RAF Exchange officer) and that’s what would be reflected in their personnel records. Similarly, our flying officers are assigned to squadron flying positions in the RAF. Their personnel records would reflect that they served in the RAF (as an USAF Exchange Officer).
· Additionally, as part of Lt. Bush’s training (prior to attending USAF Flight Training), Lt. Bush was placed on active duty with the Air Force for 120 days. This would be another basis for saying he served in the Air Force. To deny that fact would mean that all service people who are in training status are not serving their country. This would be absurd but nothing surprises me any more with the DNC/Kerry Campaign and what they will do and say in their quest for power.
· Conclusion: The DNC doesn’t know what it’s talking about. You don’t have to be an active-duty Air Force officer to serve in the Air Force as either an ANG pilot or an exchange pilot. George W. Bush’s description in his campaign literature as having served in the USAF and ANG was correct; he did not lie about his service record as alleged by the DNC.
Influence Allegation: Another allegation is that Lt. Bush used political influence to get in the ANG.
Response to Allegation:
· President Bush’s father (President George H.W. Bush) has publicly stated that the Bush family did not pull any strings to get George W. Bush into the ANG. George W. Bush got a pilot slot in the ANG because he took the steps necessary to make himself a worthy applicant.
· Left-Wing Democrats have alleged that there were 150 applicants trying to get in the ANG; that Bush was a “Fortunate Son” who was given preferential treatment; and that he was leapfrogged over all these applicants based on political pressure and special influence. This is a false charge. Here are the facts.
· Most applicants were applying for ANG enlisted positions not for pilot training. The highest number of pilot applicants that the Texas ANG Group had (at any one time) during the Vietnam War was around ten. The reason for this very low number was there were stringent educational, security clearance and physical requirements that had to be met for pilot training in the ANG; also, there was a high “danger factor” in flying the F-102 aircraft. For every ten pilot applicants, usually only two were selected by the ANG to attend USAF pilot training school.
· The question everyone needs to honestly ask themselves is: Why wouldn’t the ANG want George W. Bush in their organization? How many Yale graduates do you think the ANG had to choose from (probably only one) his name was George W. Bush? So when George W. Bush went for his interview with Col. Walter "Buck" Staudt (Texas ANG Group Commander at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston), it would seem to me that Col. Staudt’s decision to select George W. Bush for pilot training was a good one for the ANG – separate from any other consideration. Given that George W. Bush ended up being President of the United States, one might conclude that Colonel Staudt was an excellent judge of character; that he made the right decision.
· Ben Barnes, another one of CBS’ 60 Minutes helpers in orchestrating the attacks against President Bush’s ANG record, states in his interview with Dan Rather that he helped George W. Bush get into the ANG. The only problem is that Ben Barnes previously swore under oath that he had nothing to do with getting George W. Bush into the Guard. Additionally, this question came up in the 2000 election and Ben Barnes’ daughter asked her father if he had anything to do with helping George W. Bush get into the ANG. He told his daughter no (that he didn’t help Bush get in the Guard). So what has changed? Ben Barnes is now a big fund raiser and supporter of John Kerry and may have a job with Kerry – should Kerry be elected President. This is the “reliable source” Dan Rather used to attack President Bush and help validate the content of CBS’ fraudulent memos.
· Conclusion: I believe that the liberal media - agenda driven - propaganda machine has not presented a fair and balanced perspective about George W. Bush’s ANG service, instead, their many articles have left readers with the impression that George W. Bush was given preferential treatment over 150 ANG applicants and that the only way he would have been selected for a pilot slot would be if someone helped him politically; nothing could have been further from the truth.
Default Allegation: George W. Bush defaulted on meeting his ANG Service Requirements
Response to Allegation:
· Lt. Bush entered the ANG in May 1968 and took his last (F-102) flight in the Guard four years later in April 1972. His flying tour included pilot training and than operational flying in the F-102 (111th Tactical interceptor Squadron). During Lt. Bush’s time in the Guard he accumulated hundreds of hours of flying time; he served his nation honorably; he flew close to 4 years straight and performed Guard duties in 1972 and 1973 satisfactory to his Squadron Commander (Lt. Col Killian) and satisfactory to the ANG; he was given an honorable discharge in October 1973.
· It was not uncommon for pilots to depart the ANG earlier than their established service commitment back in the early seventies. Allowing pilots to transition into civilian life served the best interests of the ANG in managing its pilot force. Why? The answer is simple: there were too many pilots versus the number of cockpits required to keep pilots current in their assigned aircraft. The glut of pilots was the result of a phase down of flying operations in Southeast Asia and Vietnam.
· Also, it was common for ANG pilots (who were going to leave the service) to work out with their commanders, assignments not involving flying duty. The benefit to the individual was that it helped work the transition from ANG service to civilian life. The benefit to the Guard was that they could replace less experienced pilots with “high flight time” combat seasoned pilots.
· An issue that keeps popping up is: why Lt. Bush didn’t take an annual flight physical? The answer is simple. Lt. Bush was not going to continue flying F-102’s in the 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. His squadron was scheduled to convert from an operational to a training squadron. Since Lt. Col Killian is deceased, it is impossible to know the dialogue that went on between Lt. Bush and Lt. Col Killian. What we do know is that Lt. Bush received an honorable discharge.
· Like all Guard members, Lt. Bush was required to accrue a minimum of 50 points (annually) to meet Guard service requirements (a minimum of 300 points in six years). What the liberal media may not have covered in their many articles about Lt. Bush’s ANG service is that Lt. Bush accumulated 954 points – exceeding the six-year Air National Guard requirement for service – threefold. Of course, everyone knows this, right? All those investigative reporters must have brought this fact out a dozen times. I just must have missed it.
· Byron York in his September 9, 2004 article provided the numbers I use in the below chart. All I did was add up the points. NOTE: Any objective reporter could have totaled the numbers to give people a more balanced perspective on Lt. Bush’s ANG record; they chose not to. Now let’s look at the ANG point system and how Lt. Bush measured up against it.
Accumulating Points toward Air National Guard Service Requirements
As you serve in the Air National Guard, you accumulate points toward meeting your ANG service requirements. When Lt. Bush was serving, the minimum points required (annually) to meet ANG requirements was fifty (50 points). The DNC, Kerry Campaign and Liberal Media are obsessed with validating that Lt. Bush earned all the ANG points necessary to qualify for his honorable discharge. They are particularly concerned with points accumulated after April 1972.
I’ve constructed the chart below to show that Lt. Bush not only met his annual requirements but exceeded them threefold – 954 earned versus a 300 point minimum requirement. Lt. Bush’s strong record of Guard service supported his early release from a six-year service obligation to attend Harvard Business School. He received an Honorable Discharge in October 1973 having served 5 years, 4 months and 5 days.
BUSH EXCEEDS AIR NATIONAL GUARD ANNUAL SERVICE REQUIREMENTS (THREEFOLD FOR A SIX YEAR PERIOD)
Air National Guard Service Period Minimum Annual Requirement ANG Points Earned by Lt. Bush
May-68 to May-69 50 253
May-69 to May-70 50 340
May-70 to May-71 50 137
May-71 to May-72 50 112
May-72 to May-73 50 56
Jun -73 to Jul-73 50 56
Ref: http://www.hillnews.com/york/090904.aspx 300 954
Fraudulent Documents Used to Attack Bush
Multiple salvos are being fired at Bush by the DNC, Kerry Campaign and their liberal media surrogates - to dishonor President Bush’s service in the Air National Guard and undermine George W. Bush’s credibility as Commander-In-Chief. The preponderance of evidence is that the Kerry Campaign was the planned benefactor of the CBS 60 Minutes hit piece on President Bush. But something went terribly wrong; we have a fraudulent document scandal and the mask has been pulled off CBS’ extraordinary effort to undermine the President of the United States; help the DNC and get Kerry elected President.
It appears that CBS’ 60 Minutes attack on Bush helped to get (in one fell swoop) thousands of liberal writers to dust off their last article (bashing President Bush’s ANG service), touch it up and re launch it. This massive left-wing driven effort hopes to get the media focus off of Kerry and back onto President Bush.
I think it's really funny that the DNC is going to get caught in all of this Rathergate stuff, because of their lack of any knowledge of the military which they hate! How ironic.
BUMP!
Thanks for taking the time to respond so thoroughly to these biased allegations. I think you should pass this along to a source that will get to a greater audience. Perhaps NRO or Drudge.
Not one the liberal talking points...
I also thought that Barnes didn't become Lt. Governor until 1969 and Bush entered the TANG in 1968. I read this in a previous post. Here is a link to more indepth info on Ben Barnes: http://www.freedomunderground.org/view.php?v=3&t=3&aid=9003
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