RW AWOL Talking Point: There is nothing wrong with National Guard Service

[SaintLouisBlues]

I've heard both Mary Matalin and Kit Bond (R-Drunkard) spin the AWOL story as if Democrats are saying that the National Guard is bad.
"Many fine people have served..blah, blah blah" as if the story has nothing to do with Shrub not fulfilling his Guard commitment.

How long until 67% of the American public will think this whole issue is just liberal military bashing?

I don't think this lame spin will work, but crazier spin points seem to stick all the time.

[Frances]

1. I think that the National Guard members are very mad at Bush

The ones in Iraq are probably especially displeased that Bush got out of service by joining.

[lcordero]

2. They'll know that something is WRONG with NG service when

somebody skips ahead of a waiting list of 500 people in one day because their daddy pulled a few strings.

[aquart]

4. Nobody's gonna do that now, however.

Could get you killed.

[ComerPerro]

3. Then why didn't Bush show up?

You make a good point. They are trying to spin it as though we are insulting Bush for being in the guard.

Fucking assholes.

[hatrack]

5. I agree - nothing wrong with Reserve or National Guard service

Provided, of course, that you're there to do the job you swore you would do - y'know, that little "oath" you take at the outset of your service?

[denverbill]

6. Just keep asking if any current guard members can take time off.

I'm sure thousands would rather be helping elect Republican congressmen in Georgia than getting blown up in Iraq. Can they get the same free pass Bush did? After all, Vietnam was a much bloodier mess than Iraq, or so they keep saying. If Iraq is no big deal, why can't whoever wants to work elections come on home.

[Devlzown]

8. Yes, it's a different National Guard today.

I saw a picture of one of those trucks in Iraq that was obviously being driven by a guardsman. It had a sign on the front of it that said "One Weekend a Month, My Ass!" I don't think the shrub would like today's National Guard.

[mike1963]

7. I was in the ANG and certainly not ashamed of it. But I didn't get in

with help from "powerful people" and for damn sure wouldn't have been able to get away with the kind of shenanigans Dumbya did.

[grasswire]

9. Gillespie did it too

Exactly the same thing. Said it's shameful for Kerry to denigrate the National Guard.

[trof]

10. here

I send this out every time it comes up on the web. Maybe somewhere it will
get some traction. Feel free to use any or all of this, with or without
attribution.

At the time I joined the guard (1963), my unit was in dire need of pilots.
The 117th Tactical Recon Wing and the 106th Tac Recon Squadron were
recalled to active duty in October 1961 during the Berlin Crisis.
The units were relieved from active duty in August 1962.
Many of the pilots elected to remain on active duty and make a career
of the Air Force.

I heard about their pilot training program and just walked in off the
street. I took a 4 hour Air Force Officer Qualification Test (AFOQT,
basically the old Stanine general intelligence test) and another four hour
Flight Aptitude test. I passed both, although I don't remember what a
passing grade was. I do remember that 8 or 10 of us were taking the tests
and only 2 of us passed. I also took and passed a flight physical with the
base flight surgeon. You DO NOT take a flight physical with your
"personal" physician.

While my test papers and applications were
forwarded to National Guard Bureau in Washington for processing and
approval, the FBI ran a security check on me. A few weeks later I was
notified that all preparations were complete and that I could present myself
at the monthly drill week-end for swearing in with a temporary commission as
a 2nd Lt. No boot camp, no nuthin'. The temporary commission was to become
permanent upon my successful completion of pilot training.

A few months later, my unit secured a slot for me in a USAF pilot training
class. It was a 55 week program. When I was awarded my wings, I returned
to Birmingham, AL (106th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 117th Wing,
Alabama Air National Guard) and 90 days of active-duty-for-training
to check out in our unit's aircraft, the RF-84/F. I then completed my 6
year obligation and was honorably discharged with the rank of Captain.
Massey Lambard
Foley, AL

AWOL? Deserter? Here are the FACTS.

Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)
http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ucmj.htm#802.%20ART.%202.%20PERSONS%20SUBJECT%20TO%20THIS%20CHAPTER

802. ART. 2. PERSONS SUBJECT TO THIS CHAPTER
(3) Members of a reserve component while on inactive-duty training, but in
the case of members of the Army National Guard of the United States or the
Air National Guard of the United States only when in Federal Service.

Bush was not in Federal Service, thus not subject to UCMJ, and therefore not
AWOL or a deserter under UCMJ.

However, from the Texas Code of Military Justice, which Bush "may have
been" (see below) subject to says:
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 147, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987. § 432.130. Desertion
(a) A member of the state military forces is guilty of desertion if the
member:
(1) without authority goes or remains absent from his unit, organization, or
place of duty with intent to remain away permanently;
(2) quits his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to avoid
hazardous duty or to shirk important service; or
(3) without being regularly separated from one of the state military forces,
enlists or accepts an appointment in the same or another of the state
military forces, or in one of the armed forces of the United States, without
fully disclosing the fact that he has not been regularly separated.
(b) A commissioned officer of the state military forces who, after tender of
his resignation and before notice of its acceptance, quits his post or
proper duties without leave and with intent to remain away permanently is
guilty of desertion.
(c) A person found guilty of desertion or attempt to desert shall be
punished as a court-martial directs.

Bush was certainly in violation of one or more of these sections, but notice
the law was passed in 1987, well after he was out of the guard. So far, I
can find no information as to what the law was when Bush was in the TANG.


I was a pilot in the ALAANG 1963-1972. I can find no documentation of Alaba
ma military regulations on the web, but here's what I know to be true from
personal experience:

When I joined the guard to be trained as a pilot I signed an agreement, a
"contract" if you will. Upon successful completion of USAF pilot training,
I was committed for six years of service in the Alabama Air National Guard
(ALAANG). Pilot training lasted a little over a year, so my basic
obligation was for seven years.

If I had done exactly the same thing Bush did, skipped out and not shown up
for required drills and Flight Training Periods (FTPs)
1. I would have been located/contacted (if possible) by a superior officer
on an "unofficial" level and asked about my absence. In reality, it would
have been unthinkable for me or any of my squadron-mates to just drop out of
sight without any prior communication with my squadron or wing as to a
reason for this.
2. If I had no satisfactory "unofficial" explanation I would be required to
meet with an evaluation board of senior officers to explain my actions. If
necessary, I would have been taken into custody by military police.
3. Now it gets "official" If the board found I had no acceptable excuse,
they could offer three options.
a. I could make up the missed periods, possibly by extending my
obligation.
b. If I was unwilling to do this, I could have been assigned to
"involuntary active duty" (essentially "drafted"), probably into the Army,
as a private, for a period not to exceed the balance of my obligation. At
the time, that was a ticket straight to Viet Nam.
c. If I refused, I could be sent to jail for the balance of my obligation,
probably to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary.

You can see why it was in my best interest to show up each and every time
with a shine on my shoes and a smile on my face. That Bush was able to
shirk his obligation with absolutely no penalty angers me. It was wrong,
and he should have paid. But he didn't. He had the right connections and
he got off scot free. Another reason this was "papered over" is that, had
it been publicized, his commanding officers would have been seen as guilty
of dereliction of duty in not dealing with the situation according to
established military regulations.

Two more points:
1. Bush was mustered out as a 1st Lt. As a normal matter of course, just
serving the necessary time-in-grade and having no major black marks in their
records, all National Guard pilots were awarded the rank of Captain a year
prior to completing their 6 year obligation. That Bush did not speaks
volumes and should have been a "red flag".
2. In spite of Bush's flagrant disregard/violation of military regulations,
he received an Honorable Discharge (which cheapens mine and the
accomplishments of all who have received one). This is one of the strongest
"talking points" used by his supporters.

We can bemoan the fact, and wail and gnash our teeth, but there's no way
(that I know of) that this wrong can be righted. I won't "get over it", but
I can move on. We can publicize this as much as possible, but he will never
be brought up on criminal charges over it. Periodically someone discovers
www.awolbush.com for the first time and thinks "Aha!". Well, I'm glad you
learned about it. Go tell others, for whatever that's worth. But don't
think you will ever see Bush in a court of law, military or civilian,
because of this. The only small, faint hope we have is the court of public
opinion.

[RapidCreek]

11. LW talking point: Many fine people have served in the National Guard

most lived up to the oath of enlistment they took, those risking their lives in Iraq are currently living up to theirs....George Bush did not however. His failure to do so was not based upon hardship or the fortitude of principle but privilege, arrogance and a subsequent lack of accountability.

George Bush made a promise to stand shoulder to shoulder with the fine people who he served with in the National Guard. He broke that promise and abandoned his brothers in arms.

RC

[yellowcanine]

12. Helmet Head Trent Lott was spinning this today also

on Sean Hannity - I swear I tuned into him accidently!
He was blabbing about the virtues of NG service - as if that were the question. This was the tack the pubbies took back in 1988 when the question of Danny Quayle's NG service came up and whether strings were pulled to get him in at the height of the Vietnam War.

[OneTwentyoNine]

13. Many fine people served and then along came George Bush....

The others should be outraged and call for a full investigation---well...unless they were all allowed to take off for 18 months and never report in.

David

[yellowcanine]

14. Other point- NG then and now

The NG today - with frequent overseas deployments- is nothing like the NG of the Vietnam Era. Johnson made a point of not deploying the NG to Vietnam because he knew it would hurt support for the war. Men of draft age were aware of this and the NG was seen as a way to stay out of Vietnam. Consequently, depending on the state, NG units could be very difficult to get into. I don't blame anyone for joining the NG to stay out of Vietnam - it was a sane thing to do. But it does piss me off that the Dan Quayles and G.W. Bushes were apparently able to vault over waiting lists as a result of political influence. It also pisses me off that they can't be honest about the fact that the reason many were in the NG had nothing to do with wanting to serve-it was a way out of Vietnam. Thus G.W. Bush's cavalier approach to his NG service is particularly galling. Not only did he apparently use political pull to get into the TANG at the expense of some other person, but then it appears that he did not even come close to fufilling the requirements. This should have been aired out in 2000 and it wasn't. Too bad Shrubby - it looks as if you are going to have to address it this time.