I have seen many claims, and talked to people who believe, that Dubya was allowed to join the Texas Air National Guard ahead of 150 others on a waiting list. So, I decided to do a little research. I came up empty on the internet. Every citation of this, such as one from CBS News (quite a reliable source, I’d say) says something similar:
Questions about the president’s National Guard service have lingered for years. Some critics question how Mr. Bush got into the Guard when there were waiting lists of young men hoping to join it to escape the draft and possible service in Vietnam.
Another post at DU:
It has been reported that Bush jumped to the top of a list of over 500 applicants for the position…
And yet another:
Although he only scored in the 25th percentile on his pilot aptitude test Bush was somehow able to skip this entire waiting list and get an immediate appointment to the Texas Air National Guard.
But I have yet to see anything anywhere which corroborates these claims.
Has anyone seen anything at all that shows this to be true, or are we all listening to something which has been repeated often enough to sound believable? Can someone, somewhere, provide a copy of said list, or even some reliable information that such a list actually existed?
Dan Rather would know, wouldn’t he?
***UPDATE***
I found this which may answer the question. Also, the Washington Post has more integrity than Dan Rather, even if they word things a little oddly:
Retired Col. Rufus G. Martin, then personnel officer in charge of the 147th Fighter Group, said the unit was short of its authorized strength, but still had a long waiting list, because of the difficulty getting slots in basic training for recruits at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. Martin said four openings for pilots were available in the 147th in 1968, and that Bush got the last one.
So, it seems Dubya didn’t jump past all those other folks waiting for a slot after all.
I printed out Jerry Killian’s recommendation for 2nd Lt. Bush to be promoted to 1st Lt. Bush. In fact I faxed it to Dan Rather at ABC! He spoke glowingly of his flying ability, so the idea that he was in the botton 25% is difficult to believe. I can’t find the link, but I could fax it to you if you’d like to see it. And there was NO “tiny th” on it! 😉 Let me know by e-mail if you want me to fax a copy. It was .pdf format.
Comment by DagneyT — September 20, 2004 @ 2:03 pm
Why don’t you put a link on your site. I think some others may be interested. Otherwise, go ahead and send it.
In the flying business, sometimes the least likely trainees turn out to be the best due to simple hard work and focus.
Comment by Bunker — September 20, 2004 @ 2:19 pm