LAT: An Agile Pilot Who Flew Under the Radar (AWOL TANG)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/2004/la-na-bushguard27sep27,1,4677487,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines

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A growing chorus of Bush critics has emerged in recent weeks, saying his youthful conduct then is freshly relevant today. They contrast Bush's early exit with the experience of thousands of weary American Guard troops and reservists today in strife-torn Iraq, who have had their war tours involuntarily extended under the Bush administration.

"If he wanted to get out of Vietnam, fine. But he had a minimal responsibility to meet his contract, and he broke it. Now he wants our military Guard people in Iraq to make the ultimate sacrifice and accept extended tours," said Gerald A. Lechliter, a retired Army colonel who opposes Bush's Iraq war policy.

Lechliter is among several critics — some of them Democrats — who have made detailed analyses of the president's Guard records and say that he did not meet basic standards.

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Two other sons of prominent Texans who entered the Texas Guard then far surpassed minimum standards. Lloyd Bentsen III, whose father was a businessman and rising Democratic politician, and John B. Connally III, whose father was Texas governor, both made captain. Bentsen, who served with Bush in the 147th, volunteered for an extra year.