daveman
Diamond Member
That article seems to leave some information out. Gasp.
Although Mr. Bush's unit in Texas had a waiting list for many spots, he was accepted because he was one of a handful
of applicants willing and qualified to spend more than a year in active training, and extra shifts after training, flying
single--seat F-
-102 fighter jets.
--
Such are the details that emerge from a review of Mr. Bush's service record by The Dallas Morning News, along with
interviews with Guard leaders, former colleagues and state officials familiar with that unit.
--
Records provided to The News by Tom Hail, a historian for the Texas Air National Guard, show that the unit Mr.
Bush signed up for was not filled. In mid--1968, the 147th Fighter Interceptor Group, based in Houston, had 156 openings
among its authorized staff of 925 military personnel.
Of those, 26 openings were for officer slots, such as that filled by Mr. Bush, and 130 were for enlisted men and
women. Also, several former Air Force pilots who served in the unit said that they were recruited from elsewhere to fly
for the Texas Guard.
Officers who supervised Mr. Bush and approved his admission to the Guard said they were never contacted by anyone
on Mr. Bush's behalf.
"He didn't have any strings pulled, because there weren't any strings to pull," said Leroy Thompson of Brownwood,
who commanded the squadron that kept the waiting list for the guard at Ellington Air Force Base. "Our practices were
under incredible scrutiny then. It was a very ticklish time."
--
In an interview, Mr. Bush said he walked into Col. Staudt's Houston office and told him he wanted to be a fighter pilot.
"He told me they were looking for pilots," Mr. Bush said. He said he was told that there were five or six flying slots
available, and he got one of them.
While Guard slots generally were coveted, pilot positions required superior education, physical fitness and the
willingness to spend more than a year in full--time training.
"If somebody like that came along, you'd snatch them up," said the former commander, who retired as a general. "He
took no advantage. It wouldn't have made any difference whether his daddy was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."
Bobby Hodges, the group's operations officer, and others familiar with Guard rules said Mr. Bush made it to the top
of the short list of candidates who could pass both the written officer test and a rigorous flight physical to qualify for the
three to four annual pilot training "quotas" allotted to the unit.
Mr. Hodges and Gen. Staudt are the two surviving members of the military panel that reviewed and approved Mr.
Bush's officer commission.
Most of those wanting to get into the Guard at that time, they said, didn't want to put in the full year of active service
that was required to become a pilot.
--
Mr. Bush's application for the Guard included a box to be checked specifying whether he did or did not volunteer for
overseas duty. His includes a check mark in the box not wanting to volunteer for such an assignment.
But several personnel officers said that part of the application for domestic Guard units routinely would be filled out
that way by a clerk typist, then given to the applicant to sign.
Mr. Bush has said that he signed up for but lacked the number of flying hours to participate in a program called the
Palace Alert, which eventually rotated nine pilots from his unit into duty in Southeast Asia from 1969 to 1970.
His signup and willingness to participate was confirmed by several of his colleagues and superiors, who remembered
the effort as brash but admirable.
of applicants willing and qualified to spend more than a year in active training, and extra shifts after training, flying
single--seat F-
-102 fighter jets.
--
Such are the details that emerge from a review of Mr. Bush's service record by The Dallas Morning News, along with
interviews with Guard leaders, former colleagues and state officials familiar with that unit.
--
Records provided to The News by Tom Hail, a historian for the Texas Air National Guard, show that the unit Mr.
Bush signed up for was not filled. In mid--1968, the 147th Fighter Interceptor Group, based in Houston, had 156 openings
among its authorized staff of 925 military personnel.
Of those, 26 openings were for officer slots, such as that filled by Mr. Bush, and 130 were for enlisted men and
women. Also, several former Air Force pilots who served in the unit said that they were recruited from elsewhere to fly
for the Texas Guard.
Officers who supervised Mr. Bush and approved his admission to the Guard said they were never contacted by anyone
on Mr. Bush's behalf.
"He didn't have any strings pulled, because there weren't any strings to pull," said Leroy Thompson of Brownwood,
who commanded the squadron that kept the waiting list for the guard at Ellington Air Force Base. "Our practices were
under incredible scrutiny then. It was a very ticklish time."
--
In an interview, Mr. Bush said he walked into Col. Staudt's Houston office and told him he wanted to be a fighter pilot.
"He told me they were looking for pilots," Mr. Bush said. He said he was told that there were five or six flying slots
available, and he got one of them.
While Guard slots generally were coveted, pilot positions required superior education, physical fitness and the
willingness to spend more than a year in full--time training.
"If somebody like that came along, you'd snatch them up," said the former commander, who retired as a general. "He
took no advantage. It wouldn't have made any difference whether his daddy was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."
Bobby Hodges, the group's operations officer, and others familiar with Guard rules said Mr. Bush made it to the top
of the short list of candidates who could pass both the written officer test and a rigorous flight physical to qualify for the
three to four annual pilot training "quotas" allotted to the unit.
Mr. Hodges and Gen. Staudt are the two surviving members of the military panel that reviewed and approved Mr.
Bush's officer commission.
Most of those wanting to get into the Guard at that time, they said, didn't want to put in the full year of active service
that was required to become a pilot.
--
Mr. Bush's application for the Guard included a box to be checked specifying whether he did or did not volunteer for
overseas duty. His includes a check mark in the box not wanting to volunteer for such an assignment.
But several personnel officers said that part of the application for domestic Guard units routinely would be filled out
that way by a clerk typist, then given to the applicant to sign.
Mr. Bush has said that he signed up for but lacked the number of flying hours to participate in a program called the
Palace Alert, which eventually rotated nine pilots from his unit into duty in Southeast Asia from 1969 to 1970.
His signup and willingness to participate was confirmed by several of his colleagues and superiors, who remembered
the effort as brash but admirable.
Amazing what all your article leaves out in service of its agenda, isn't it? You probably believed CBS's "fake but accurate" memos, too, didn't you?
