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August 18, 2004

Once And For All

Since the apparent problems with John Kerry's possible fantasy life began leaking into the mainstream media, some Dem flaks have been trying to jump the trend by tossing out an oldie but goodie - Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard.

So, for the last time, the inconvenient truth about Lieutenant Bush, USAF.

Let's dispense with a few myths, for starters:

George W. Bush's military service began in 1968 when he enlisted in the Texas Air National Guard after graduating with a bachelor's degree in history from Yale University. The aircraft that he was ultimately trained to fly was the F-102 Delta Dagger. A number of sources have claimed that Bush sought service in the National Guard to avoid being sent to Vietnam, and that the F-102 was a safe choice because it was an obsolete aircraft that would never see any real combat. However, those perceptions turn out to be incorrect, as will be seen shortly.
One of the misconceptions - that the Air Guard was a cush job:
It is a common misconception that the Air National Guard was a safe place for military duty during the Vietnam War. In actuality, pilots from the 147th Fighter Interceptor Group, as it was called at the time, were actually conducting combat missions in Vietnam when Bush enlisted. In fact, Air Force F-102 squadrons had been stationed in South Vietnam since March 1962. It was during this time that the Kennedy administration began building up a large US military presence in the nation as a deterrent against North Vietnamese invasion.
So he was not a "Draft Dodger" by any rational stretch of the imagination.
F-102 squadrons continued to be stationed in South Vietnam and Thailand throughout most of the Vietnam War. The planes were typically used for fighter defense patrols and as escorts for B-52 bomber raids. While the F-102 had few opportunities to engage in its primary role of air combat, the aircraft was used in the close air support role starting in 1965. Armed with rocket pods, Delta Daggers would make attacks on Viet Cong encampments in an attempt to harass enemy soldiers. Amazingly, some missions were even conducted using the aircraft's heat-seeking air-to-air missiles to lock onto enemy campfires at night. Though these missions were never considered to be serious attacks on enemy activity, F-102 pilots did often report secondary explosions coming from their targets.
Ground attack. Dangerous.

"But wait", the less-giften will insist, "Bush only served in Texas!"

Hang on a minute:

Nevertheless, we have established that the F-102 was serving in combat in Vietnam at the time Bush enlisted to become an F-102 pilot. In fact, Air National Guard pilots from the 147th FIG were routinely rotated to Vietnam for combat duty under a volunteer program called "Palace Alert" from 1968 to 1970. Palace Alert was an Air Force program that sent qualified F-102 pilots from the ANG to bases in Europe or southeast Asia for three to six months of frontline duty. This program was instituted because the Air Force lacked sufficient pilots of its own for duty in Vietnam but was unable to activate ANG units since Presidents Johnson and Nixon had decided not to do so for political reasons. Thanks to Palace Alert, the Air Force was able to transfer much-needed National Guard pilots to Vietnam on a voluntary basis while not activating their squadrons.

Fred Bradley, a friend of Bush's who was also serving in the Texas ANG, reported that he and Bush inquired about participating in the Palace Alert program. However, the two were told by a superior, MAJ Maurice Udell, that they were not yet qualified since they were still in training and did not have the 500 hours of flight experience required. Furthermore, ANG veteran COL William Campenni, who was a fellow pilot in the 111th FIS at the time, told the Washington Times that Palace Alert was winding down and not accepting new applicants.

So Lt. Bush tried to get to Vietnam.

Wow. You'd never know that, listening to the major media.

The point of this discussion is that the military record of George W. Bush deserves a fair treatment. Bush has been criticized for avoiding service in Vietnam, though the evidence proves that the Texas Air National Guard and its F-102 pilots were serving in Vietnam while Bush was in training, and his unit could have been activated for front-line service at any time. Bush has been criticized for using his family influence to obtain his assignment, but the evidence shows that he successfully completed every aspect of the more than two years of training required of him. Bush has been criticized for pursuing a safe and plush position as a fighter pilot, but the evidence indicates the F-102 was a demanding aircraft that claimed the lives of many of its pilots even on routine missions. Bush has also been criticized for deserting the Guard before his enlistment was complete, but the evidence shows he was honorably discharged eight months early because his position was being phased out.
About 800 F102s were built. Over 200 crashed, including a number lost in Vietnam. 70 of their pilots were killed, mostly in training accidents.

So nearly 1 in 10 F102s killed their pilots.

The fact that the Dems have re-exumed this issue - after having it grind to a halt for them last winter - shows the desperation they must be feeling. The story that Larry Flynt is apparently thinking, again, about publishing something about the fabled Bush Abortion, would be more evidence of this.

Posted by Mitch at August 18, 2004 05:06 AM | TrackBack
Comments

This again? Dang.

Thanks Mitch for posting the facts again.

Posted by: Scott B at August 18, 2004 03:09 AM

Thanks, Mitch...great article. Unfortunately the link you have referring to the original article has been disabled. For those interested in the original, a google search for "Bush, F-102, and Vietnam" will pull up a lnk to googles cached copy of the article.

Posted by: Sqotty at August 22, 2004 11:28 AM

Well
Perhaps you should read the latest in US News and World Report. (Hardly known as a left wing magazine)

Also, I don't know how old you are but those of us who came of age during Vietnam know darn well that it took pull to get into the guard, and a lot of influence to get into the air guard.

Finally, it is hard to face the reality of mking a wrong decision in your political choice. It is however possible to stop quoting Karl Rove talking points, think for yourself, and do your own research. Which means going to sources other than those you know in advance will agree with your position.

Posted by: Timothy Barnwell at September 12, 2004 02:23 AM

I am something of an expert on the 147th FIG, 111th FIS, and have numerous sources who served with Bush. In fact, you are incorrect about the designation of the unit. The 147th Fighter Interceptor Group is the larger military unit which encompasses the 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. The hierarchy in the Air Force, in descending order, is Wing, Group, Squadron, Flight, and that is how the 147th and 111th are structured to this day.
I found it humorous that two nights ago, Hannity and Colmes had two former ANG officers who were in the unit when Bush joined. Well, one of them was Col. Maurice Udell, who had ascended to the title of Commander, 147th FIG and the fighter squadron attached to it. Udell was cashiered mere months before his scheduled retirement, without any rank (he was a full colonel at the time) and lost his pension after almost 30 years full time in the guard (the pension was later reinstated, I understand, but I'm not certain whether his rank was, thoughit's moot since he was now a civilian with no chance of returning to duty). I won't go into full detail on the USAF investigative branch's (Office of Special Investigations, commonly known as the OSI) charges against Udell, but they ranged from aggressive sexual harrassment of enlisted female personnel, to using the unit for personal financial gain relating to Udell's connection to an organization that sold arms to the Honduran military (this was when the Contras were getting their supplies illegally after the Congressional ban on the U.S. arming these people).
The other officer H&C presented with Udell to defend Bush's character, former Maj. Dean Roome, had been involutarily forced to leave the Guard after 20-plus years of duty, under a very black cloud, but under circumstances unrelated to the Udell affair. I was the Houston Chronicle reporter who extensively investigated this Udell business (yet another pilot in the squadron, Maj. Ronald Silkey, was also fired for running this Honduran operation -- DBA Honco, Inc. -- literally out of the alert facilities at the base, with Udell's knowledge and blessing). What I've told you is in the Houston Chronicle clip files, and if Hannity & Colmes had not pulled a CBS-like bit of negligent, sloppy non-research, they would have known that Maurice Udell and Dean Roome were the worst people they could have got to defend Bush.

Posted by: T.E. Bell at September 15, 2004 10:18 AM
hi