President Bush's military records, including personal flight logs just released by the Pentagon, paint a picture of a solid, if hardly outstanding, pilot who energetically performed his duties for much of a six-year stint with the Air National Guard. Then, in the spring of 1972, the picture changes. After initially expressing his intention to make flying "a lifetime pursuit," Bush checked out an F-102 interceptor jet for an 80-minute spin on April 6, 1972, in Texas , and never piloted a military plane again. In 1968, George W. Bush was sworn in to the Texas Air National Guard by Walter B. Staudt. One of the disputed documents was allegedly written after Staudt left. (Texas Military Forces Museum) Why Bush stopped flying and failed to take an annual physical necessary for him to remain a pilot have become the object of much speculation and reporting that spiked in intensity last week, as it did during the 2000 campaign. [more
]- CBS says:
Controversy about the authenticity of memos obtained by CBS News's "60
Minutes" continued to be an unusual campaign issue, one focused on
Texas National Guard personnel and the mechanics of early 1970s
typewriters. The memos seem to show President Bush's National Guard
commander believed Mr. Bush at times shirked his duties and used his
political influence. [more ]