You're ******* kidding, right?
On this day in 1972, George W. Bush, the nation’s 43rd president, was permanently suspended from flying with the Texas Air National Guard for having missed an annual medical examination.
The matter spawned a political controversy in both the 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns. Reporters probed not only how and why Bush had lost his flight status but also how he came to be a member of the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War and whether he had in fact fulfilled the requirements of his military service contract.
National Air Guard regulations require pilots to pass an annual physical in order to remain in flight status during the three months prior to a pilot’s birthday, in Bush’s case, July 6. Because Bush did not take the exam during this time frame, his commander suspended his flight status. The decision to do so was confirmed by Col. Bobby Hodges on Sept. 5, 1972, and re-confirmed by a National Guard Bureau order on Sept. 29 of that year.
Read more:
George W. Bush suspended from Texas Air National Guard, Aug. 1, 1972