Bush Disobeyed Direct Order to Attend Military Physical

[dpbrown]

Records Say Bush Balked at Order
National Guard Commander Suspended Him From Flying, Papers Show

By Michael Dobbs and Thomas B. Edsall
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, September 9, 2004; Page A01

President Bush failed to carry out a direct order from his superior in the Texas Air National Guard in May 1972 to undertake a medical examination that was necessary for him to remain a qualified pilot, according to documents made public yesterday.

Documents obtained by the CBS News program "60 Minutes" shed new light on one of the most controversial episodes in Bush's military service, when he abruptly stopped flying and moved from Texas to Alabama to work on a political campaign. The documents include a memo from Bush's squadron commander, Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian, ordering Bush "to be suspended from flight status for failure to perform" to U.S. Air Force and National Guard standards and failure to take his annual physical "as ordered."

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6693-2004Sep8.html

[mbali]

1. Washington Post Headline: "Bush Balked at Order"

Since when is disobeying a direct order "balking."

Jeez - enough with the euphemisms.

[maine_raptor]

7. It Fits Tho

Bush used to be a "baseball team owner" and a "Balk" allows the baserunner a "free" base.

Kinda like jumping ahead of 150 other applicants :evilgrin:

[ET Awful]

11. You're right free base . . . . freebase . . . yup, that's the Chimperor :)

n/t

[dennis4868]

8. yep....

as soon as Bush got in the WH a lie was no longer a lie but an exxageration....

[annabanana]

2. This "Commader-in-Cheif"

Had no respect for America's military then.......he has NO respect for America's Military now......and he never will have, unless he is tried for treason....then there will be a "jailhouse conversion" along the lines of his "newfound faith"........bogus born.

[maine_raptor]

3. New Bumper Stick "Bush Balked, Kerry Headed In" n/t

[RobertDevereaux]

15. Or how about...

Bush Shirked, Kerry Served

[liberal_in_GA]

16. yesterday someone posted...

KERRY BLED
BUSH FLED

}(

[dpbrown]

17. That's a good one!

Kerry LED!
Bush fled.

Pompous Captain Unelected.

[seabeyond]

4. not knowing military, arent you suppose to go to JAIL?

?

[AmandaRuth]

5. the media is our true enemy

lying (D) = misspoke (R)
disobeyed direct order (D) = balked at direct order (R)
destroy career over dead intern (D) = spot on cable news over dead intern (R)
gay official outed on national news (D) = Christian coalition congressman outed buried on page 5 (R)

and they just go on and on


would be funny, if it were not so sad

[lasttrip]

19. so true. good point n/t

[CornField]

6. Bartlett would have us believe * was exercising *choice*

No, the records have been clear for years that President Bush did not take a physical because he did not need to take a physical because, obviously, the choice was that he was going to be performing in a different capacity.

Who knew... the neo-cons are pro-choice! Someone should alert our men and women in Iraq, especially those suffering under the stop loss policy.

[dpbrown]

12. No, Bush was DENIED Permission to Move to Alabama

Bush moved to Alabama unit without Air Force permission

BY LARRY COHLER-ESSES AND BOB PORT

New York Daily News


NEW YORK - (KRT) - George W. Bush left his Texas Air National Guard assignment and moved to Alabama in 1972 even though the Air Force denied his request for a transfer, according to his military records.

In fact, Bush did not even ask for an official transfer until nine days after he moved to Alabama in May 1972.

The Air Force quickly rejected Bush's request, saying the fighter pilot was "ineligible" to move to the Alabama unit Bush wanted - a squadron of postal handlers.

Nevertheless, Bush stayed in Alabama until his Texas commanders finally gave him written authorization five months later to train there.

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http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/nation/7932511.htm

[Cocoa]

9. are orders optional?

I've never been in the military, so I might be wrong, but my understanding is that "order" means "have to", not "can if you want to."

But last night on 60 minutes, Dan Bartlett seemed to be saying that the order was more of a suggestion.

[no_hypocrisy]

10. Can you disobey a direct order and still receive an Honorable Discharge?

[oscar111]

13. Military Prison for disobeying 2 direct orders. Court Martial

ask some expert... why wasnt bush court martialed for disobeying 2 direct orders in wartime?

Why didnt he spend three years in Ft. Levanworth military prison, or whereever they go?

Why wasnt he also catagorized as a deserter, if he missed training sessions?

Desertion in wartime would be the appropriate charge, i think.. and then Ft. Levanworth for life in prison. Do they still execute, as Ike did to Pvt. Slovak in WW2, for desertion?

Can today's sec. of the air force bring desertion charges now, and send bush to Ft. Levanworth for the remainder of his life?

Seems the Secretary ought to bring charges by Sept. 10 th, convene a Court Martial by sept. 13 th, reach a verdict by sept. 20 th at the latest, and then have bush led away in chains to his prison cell in Ft. Levanworth's west wing cell block, by the evening of that same day, Sept. 20 th.

Cheney assumes the presidency, and head of the ticket. As a highly unpopular person, he loses the election 75:25. Dems sweep the House and Senate, and rivive FDR's New Deal .. this time, at twice the intensity.

[bluedog]

14. What would Powell say?

"I am angry that so many of the sons of the powerful and well-placed... managed to wangle slots in Reserve and National Guard units...Of the many tragedies of Vietnam, this raw class discrimination strikes me as the most damaging to the ideal that all Americans are created equal and owe equal allegiance to their country."

(Colin Powell’s autobiography, My American Journey, p. 148)

[dpbrown]

18. He oughta whoop the Poseur Prince's ass!

Bush is the son of the rich that Powell hates.

[rullery]

20. A physical would have disclosed his drug use.

It figures that this is the logical reason an officer might disobey such a direct order from his superior. He must have figured that he would be in worse trouble if it became known that he was a junkie. So he ran away to Alabama and tried to get a transfer to a guard unit there.

Clearly the National Guard must not enforce military discipline as the regular military services do. As a veteran I know that this would have been cause at least for a reduction in rank, and 1st Lt. Bush would have been reduced to 2nd Lt.

[Hailtothechimp]

21. Military people such as Wes Clark need to take over on this.

You can't have a military where orders are not followed and there are no consequences for it. Civilians cannot credibly say this, but retired military can. The question is will they????