I copied this from another board.

[buff2]

An extraordinary email
Wednesday, July 28 2004 @ 11:23 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Contributed by: Admin I received this email yesterday, as a promo for Ian Williams' new book. I'll be getting a review copy within a couple of days and will review the book here. Mean time, here's some background from a former USAF lieutenant that I found interesting.


Michael Graham, a contemporary of George W. Bush's who served in the USAF, recently sent the following message to fellow military service people and veterans. It's an interesting look at the disillusionment and resentment Bush's less-than-valiant military service, and reckless willingness to commit other men and women to ill-advised wars, have created within the military community.

----

There is a new book about Bush which I, as a contemporary of his in the USAF officer corps, strongly urge you to read. It is a fast-written but factual book called Deserter: Bush's War On Military Families, Veterans, and his Past.

Tell every veteran you know to read this book carefully. But caution him to have an airsickness bag handy while reading it. He will learn about how Bush is going to screw him even more.

He'll also learn about Bush's hidden contempt for the military, as opposed to his phony shows of patriotism in front of captive audiences of soldiers.

Also pass this on to any Republicans you might know. Before they get suckered any more by this clown, they should know a few of the facts about his "patriotism."

If anyone reads this book and still votes for this five-star phony, then we are in deeper doo-doo than even I thought. The book is a screed, a scream in the night about the true character of George W. Bush.

All this militaristic posturing of Bush's is based on a huge lie this guy is telling himself, one which he actually believes -- that he is now, in fact, as big a war hero as Daddy. As some comedian said "The Treasury Department should start issuing three-dollar bills, just to have somewhere to put his picture."

That would be funny if it weren't so true. But the real danger of George W. Bush isn't his phoniness, it's the fact that he believes himself to be the right hand of God, therefore infallible. Not even another infallible guy, the Pope, could convince Bush he was wrong about Iraq.

The author of Deserter, Ian Williams, is UN correspondent for The Nation. Nation Books is the publisher.

As an example of what's in the book, Mr. Williams has at last answered a burning, obsessive question I have had for months: Just how did Mr. Bush earned his commission as a second lieutenant in the Air National Guard? It's a natural enough question, since Bush and I wore exactly the same uniform at exactly the same time.

(Although I didn't wear mine very often; I was in the real Air Force, in a counter-intelligence unit where we wore plainclothes.)

The answer is -- Bush didn't earn it. Because of a quirk in Texas National Guard commissioning powers, Bush was simply handed an officer's commission directly upon finishing basic enlisted training.

Enlisted training does not qualifiy you to be a commissioned officer. Officer Training School does that. But apparently that stringent requirement applied only to us in the real Air Force.

From page 91 of Deserter: "You would think that Bush the Young would boast in his memoirs about his truly historic and meteoric promotion record. After six weeks basic training, by the beginning of September 1968, he was deemed such an outstanding officer that he was made second lieutenant without the tedium and formality of attending officer training school..."

So you know that lieutenant's bar on Bush's fllght cap in those smiley-face fighter pilot pictures? He didn't earn it. He was, you might say, an honorary lieutenant.

Now I confess to a personal resentment. No one offered me a deal like that. I had to go through an extremely rigorous training program -- as I recall it was 12 weeks -- at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. The day I pinned on my lieutenant's bars was one of the proudest days of my life, because getting there was so hard.

Similarly, all the other junior officers of my generation had to earn their commissions, too. They went through one of the service academies, through ROTC in college, or through a crash course in OTS or OCS after earning their college degrees. The only exceptions -- in the real Air Force, at least -- were flight surgeons.

So what we have here, Mr. Williams confirms, is a prancing president who has reinvented himself as a war hero -- AND NEVER EVEN WENT THROUGH THE PROPER TRAINING TO BE A LIEUTENTANT. His military "rank" carries about as much weight as Harlan Sanders' rank of "Colonel." Yet even the highest-ranking noncommissioned officer -- the Senior Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force -- would have been required to render a hand salute when passing "Lt." Bush on the steet.

So that's it. Thank you, Mr. Williams. What we have here is the COLONEL SANDERS LIEUTENANT. When we refer to him in writing or speech, we should call him the former Honorary First Lieutenant Bush. He was an honorary officer in a toy air force.

Below is a portion of a congratulatory e-mail I sent the Deserter author this morning. This will make you understand the importance of this commissioning issue. I describe what Bush missed by not getting properly trained.

----

Bush missed having the Honor Code drilled into his head from day one. I was in Officer Training School (OTS) class 67-E. That was a long time ago now, but I can still recite it in my sleep. Here is the Air Force Academy's official statement on the subject:

The Honor Code is the centerpiece of a cadet's moral and ethical development. Cadets pledge: "We will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does." All cadets take formal courses in ethics and receive honor and ethics instruction as part of their training.

It was the exactly the same with us in OTS. Ethics and honor, drummed into our heads. We, of course, had come of age in the JFK era, and we actually believe in things like that. (Some of us still do.)

The Army has its version of the Honor Code, the Navy and Marine Corps theirs, with only slightly different wording. So John Kerry had the Navy version drummed into this head in what they call Officer Candidate School. It's the universal code of conduct of an officer and a gentleman. (That's the gentleman part.) An American military officer isn't supposed to lie, steal or cheat. Period. Presumably that also applies to the Commander-in-Chief.

Bush also missed leadership training, the history of warfare, strategy and tactics -- stuff like that. He missed the humility of being an equal among equals, at the bottom of the shit chute. He missed learning about the value of teamwork... Find the old movie An Officer and a Gentleman and you'll see what he missed.

Anyway, there it is. As far as I know, no one in the mainstream press has yet picked up on the signifance of the honorary lieutenant story.

If you read Deserter, you'll also understand how this little excursion into Iraq is a function of Bush's daddy hangup, and a lot of other things.

You'll also learn in considerable detail the contempt he really has for the military. He has made the Pentagon his own personal toy, drunk with power and in love with himself as the "Commander in Chief."

The biggest coward in the history of the Presidency has re-invented himself as a war hero, and this book shows how he did it. It's downright Orwellian.

Pass this on.

Mike Graham

Buy the Book



http://www.blah3.com/

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. People in the service have figured

this out... at least a good percentage of them

[buff2]

2. Too bad those idiot marines in Wendy's

Still don't get it.This is why I can't stomach those rightwingnut freaks. They can't be respectable to anyone who doesn't lick bush's boots. There are a LOT of Forrest Gumps in this country. It's a disgrace.Hope those two morons are sent to Iraq.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. You'd be surprised at how many service members

do get it

But they cannot tell you this, not while in uniform

[hayu_lol]

3. Bush's FAUX commission...

As has already been stated above, Bush was directly commissioned. This saved him from the rigors of going through flight training as a cadet. Being a cadet is a pretty rough regimen. As an officer, Bush would have lived a much more comfortable life while learning to fly.

Daddy Bush did this.

[trof]

12. Cadet program had been phased out by then.

Happened in the late 50s/early 60s, prior to my time in pilot training. By '63 all students were officers.

[tabasco]

4. As someone who worked hard to get a commission in the Army,

it really disgusts me how Bush was handed a commission. That's the story of his life. Never having to work for anything. He is as effete and privileged President we have ever had. He lacks virtually any good leadership or character traits.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. Trust me I know what you say

the kid NEVER learned how to follow, hence he is incapable of
leading

Some of us started as E-1s and rose though the ranks (another military), but it took me years to get my commision... so I know exactly what you mean.

Bush is enraging to any real soldier, regardless of counry of commision.

[tabasco]

14. I was a private E-1 Snuffy myself.

Only one hitch enlisted and then went back to school and got a commission. :hi:

[artslave43]

7. A California Soldier's Death

Hi, this is the first time I have posted, and I didn't know where to put this, but it is just so disturbing....I got it from a friend whose husband is a Stanford professor...this is an emai, so I can't link it to a page, and it is dated July 31...


July 31, 2004

Tonight in Mountain View, CA I heard Nadia McCaffrey speak about the June 22 death of her son Patrick McCaffrey as a US soldier in Iraq. Patrick and two comrades were killed in an ambush. Before his death, Patrick reported conditions in Iraq to his mother in a phone call. Patrick and other soldiers were exhausted from repeated weeks of two hours sleep between guard shifts. Patrick in one day saved the lives of two comrades by giving them IV solutions to counteract the effects of the excessive heat.

Patrick said bounties of $10,000.00 exist for anyone able to prove they have killed an American soldier, but the American media suppresses this knowledge. Nadia says Patrick was killed by bounty hunters. The US is training Iraqi citizens to serve as military and police forces. Patrick said the same Iraqi people he trained during the day attacked their platoon at night, as three of them were killed. The ones we are training are Sadam's prior soldiers.

Patrick said that the Iraqis hate us and use every opportunity to insult the American forces. Iraqis dislike non-Iraqis, whether they be Europeans or otherwise. Patrick said he and his fellow soldiers wonder why they are there when they are constantly hated, and the troops are losing morale. If a foreign force invaded America and tried to dominate us, we would fight back also.

Before America entered Iraq, a team of mideast political experts held a forum at Stanford University and predicted that terrorists from all over the mideast would flock to Iraq to concentrate their efforts. The team published their opinions in the Stanford Reporter, and unfortunately, they were correct.

Nadia had the courage to invite CNN to film the return of Patrick's casket to Tracy, CA and they did. President Bush does not even want the returning coffins to be photographed. Remember that when he speaks at the Republican convention.

Tonight, another woman spoke up in the room and said her son was in Patrick's platoon and witnessed Patrick's death from a distance. Her son said they were stretched so thin they could not defend each other. The situation in Iraq is clearly unsustainable. We need to exit Iraq now before we are forced to flee the opposition, as in Vietnam.

Iraq is serving as a fulcrum for polarizing hatred in the world. Our fathers died in WW II so we would have a choice about the world we create. Take action now to curtail American involvement in Iraq, and to prevent WW III from happening. Work within our government to affect change.

The truth about Iraq can no longer be denied. Share this information with everyone who can make a difference. At a minimum, print this and send it to your congressmen and senators, along with your own message and residence address. Your representatives mailing addresses are available at a web site called www.Congress.org <http://www.Congress.org><http://www.Congress.org> . Stand up and be counted.

Sincerely,

Gary Shade

[newyawker99]

15. Hi artslave43!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[displacedtexan]

8. I'm sure that Poppy knew that George W. couldn't hack it

in OTS.

Et voila! Instant commission!

[SammyWinstonJack]

9. It's true

My ex after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh ( he went back into the AF before he graduated) , attended OTS at Lackland AFB for twelve weeks, upon completion of his training, he received his commission as a 2nd Lt. So bush* once again didn't earn his way. Figures.

[trof]

10. OK, more from the Equine Oracle:

(the horse's mouth)
I was commissioned in exactly the same way W* was, and you know I'm no apologist for him. I just want us to have the facts as much as we are able.

Quick & dirty:
Heard about the pilot training/commissioning ANG program from an Airman 3rd buddy in the unit. "You can get a direct commission as a 2nd Lt. No boot camp, no nuthin'. IF YOU DON'T MIND LEARNING TO FLY." unquote. My squadron-to-be was RECRUITING pilots. Think my buddy got a bonus for "finding" me.

Called the guard base in B'ham, AL.
Made appointment to come in for a full day.
Took 4 hour written Air Force Officer Qualification Test (AFOQT, 2 years college required to take test, which I barely had. GPA not a factor, or I'd never have made it.) and 4 hour written Basic Flight Aptitude test.
The deal: If I passed the tests, and a flight physical, and an FBI background investigation (security clearance) I'd get a TEMPORARY commission as 2nd Lt. If I successfully completed USAF pilot training, the commission would become permanent.

I was accepted, made it through the 55 weeks of pilot training (Class 65-C, Vance AFB, Enid OK.), and returned to B'ham and my squadron with my permanent commission.
Never saw the inside of a boot camp or any kind of basic training. I'm kinda surprised that W* did, but he was 3 or 4 years after me, and maybe the program had changed by then.
I was/am not a member of a rich and powerful family, had no connections or pull. Just a walk-on.
That was the program then, and that was the deal.

I put my time in and, through the normal progression, finished as a Captain. That George* was mustered out as a 1st Lt. is very telling.
Don't get me wrong. W* is nailable on his so-called "milirary career" on a number of counts. This just isn't one of them.

[buff2]

11. You put your time in........

Dumbo didn't. He was AWOL,so there is a difference. :hi:

[trof]

13. Like I said, "nailable" on other counts.