In a surprise move, the White House late Friday released what it said was President Bush’s entire personal military file, but the papers contained little dramatic new information and seemed unlikely to quiet the controversy around Bush’s National Guard service.
The document release was the third this week by an administration that has been besieged by Democratic criticism that Bush may have evaded part of his military duty when he served in the Texas Air National Guard from 1968 to 1973, at the time of the Vietnam War.
“The president felt everything should be made available to the public,” White House press secretary Scott McClellan said in announcing the release, adding that the White House received the file Friday afternoon. “There were some who sought to leave a wrong impression that there was something to hide when there is not.”
Much of the file comprised standard personnel material, such as Bush’s service agreement and promotion records. But documents from September 1972 confirm that Bush had his pilot status suspended because he did not take a required medical exam.
Dan Bartlett, the White House communications director, said Bush skipped the exam because he was transferring to a non-flying job in the Alabama Air National Guard and there was no need for him to take the exam.
Some had suggested Bush may have skipped the exam because he had something to hide.
McClellan said, “This whole thing had become so ridiculous.”
In recent weeks, Democrats have leveled several attacks at Bush regarding his service in the National Guard.
They have suggested that Bush used family connections, since he was accepted rapidly into the Guard at a time when many were seeking entry to avoid going to Vietnam. Democrats have pointed out that their presidential front-runner, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), volunteered for Vietnam, saw combat and received medals for heroism.
Democrats also have cited a period from April to October in 1972 when Bush was reassigned, at his request, to the Alabama unit, but no records have emerged to prove that Bush showed up for duty.
The White House insists Bush fulfilled all his requirements, calling the allegations “baseless” and “outrageous.” The documents released Friday shed no light on that dispute.
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However, a retired Alabama Air National Guard officer told The Associated Press on Friday that he remembers Bush showing up for duty in Alabama in 1972, reading safety magazines and flight manuals in an office as he performed his weekend obligations.
“I saw him each drill period,” said retired Lt. Col. John “Bill” Calhoun. Calhoun, whose name was supplied by a Republican close to Bush, is the first member of Bush’s unit to specifically recall the president at the Alabama base in 1972-73.
Critics also have noted that Bush was allowed to leave the Guard several months early to attend Harvard Business School.
The papers released Friday show a note from Bush saying, “I respectfully request my discharge from the Texas Air National Guard . . . effective 1 October 1973. I am moving to Boston, Massachusetts to attend Harvard Business School as a full time student.”
Underneath, Lt. Col. Jerry Kilian has added, “Recommend approval.”
The questions regarding Bush’s military service have surfaced in virtually all of Bush’s political campaigns, including those for Texas governor. But this is the first time they have erupted into a major issue.
That is in part because the nation is at war, with more than 500 U.S. service men and women having died in Iraq. That, in turn, has prompted critics of the Iraq war to ask whether Bush, when he could have risked his own life in Vietnam, avoided doing so.
In addition, Democrats appear poised to nominate Kerry, a Vietnam War hero who came home and protested the war, as their nominee. Contrasting the two military records has given the Democrats hope of diminishing one of Bush’s biggest assets, his stature as wartime commander in chief.
While the White House provided many of the documents to all reporters, it kept some in the White House’s Roosevelt Room, allowing only a small group of reporters to scrutinize them, take notes and summarize them for the rest of the media.
In releasing the documents, White House officials sought to demonsrate that they are being entirely forthcoming about the matter.
The documents included such items as a “statement of intent” from early in Bush’s service. “I have applied for pilot training with the goal of making flying a lifetime pursuit,” young Bush wrote. “I believe I can best accomplish this to my own satisfaction by serving as a member of the Air National Guard as long as possible.”
The documents also referred to a disorderly conduct charge against Bush at Yale University in December 1966, noting that the charges were dropped. “The security director of Yale, Mr. Powell, will vouch for the insignificance of the prank,” Bush wrote in one document.
The youthful National Guardsman received several positive service evaluations..
“Lt. Bush is an exceptionally fine young officer and pilot,” said one in May 1971. “Lt. Bush possesses sound judgment and is mature beyond his age and experience level. . . . Lt. Bush’s main strengths are his eagerness to participate in the unit’s activities and his ability to work harmoniously with others.”
Political activities noted
A year later, the evaluating officer referred to Bush’s political activities.
“Lt. Bush is very active in civic affairs in the community and manifests a deep interest in the operation of our government,” the evaluation said. “He has recently accepted the position as campaign manager for a candidate for the United States Senate. He is a good representative of the military and Air National Guard in the business world.”