Dan Rather's Five Questions for Bush, and Then Some.

[girl gone mad]

Dan Rather's Five Questions for Bush:

1. Did Lt. Bush refuse a direct order from a military superior in time of war?

2. Was he suspended for failure to perform up tothe standards of the U.S. Air Force and the Texas National Guard?

3. Did he ever take the physical he was ordered to take by his military superior?

4. If he didn't take that physical, why didn't he take that physical?

5. was he or was he not suspended for failure to meet performance standard of the Air Force and TANG?


The two new documents posted by USA Today along with new information from US News and World Report raise even more questions:

6. Why was Bush flying a T-33 trainer rather than an F-102A fighter intercepter in February and March of 1972?

7. Why were Bath and Bush's fligt certifications in question before they failed to turn up for their physicals?

8. What was the "recent activity" that Killian cited as being outside of the rating period?

[Iceburg]

1. Good reminder but a note of caution about #8

The "recent activity" referred to in the 24 June 1973 memo may be interpreted as ... "the sob has finally started showing up for drills after having been awol during the period to be rated ...therfore it (his recent activity)should not be reflected in the aformentioned assessment period.

see page 5 of http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-09-09bushdocs.pdf

I think it helps to see this phrase in context.
The text of this memo is as follows ...


111 Fighter Interceptor Squandron
PO Box 34367

24 June 1973

Sir,
1. I got your call from your staff concerning the evaluation of 1st Lt. Bush this month. His rater is Lt. Harris.

2. Neither Lt. Harris or I feel we can rate 1st Lt. Bush since he was not training with 111 F.I.S. since April 1972. His recent activity is outside the rating period.

3. Advise me how we are to handle this.


Jerry B. Killian

[girl gone mad]

2. That's how I interpreted it at first,

but is there any other evidence he was showing up for drills? I thought that by June 1973 he had completely blown of the guard. His flight status had been revoked.

Now my thinking is that the recent activity could be an arrest or something of that nature.

Without more information, it could also be interpreted as you describe. Either way, I think Bush should be asked the question.

[girl gone mad]

3. BTW,

January of 1973 is when Bush worked on PULL, an inner city youth poverty program that many people suspect was part of a community service requirement issued by the courts after a drug arrest.

[Lex]

4. So the "recent activity" may have been a cocaine bust

that he subsequent got expunged from his record by working on Project PULL in inner city Houston.

That is also why he was advised, later on, to get a brand new Texas Driver's License number just in case some remnant of the coke bust and court activity could be found by researching court records with his old Texas driver's license number.