Back in 1972, Jerry Killian was a Lieutenant Colonel in the US National Guard. One of the young pilots under his command was a rich kid named George W. Bush. Killian is dead now, but this is what his newly-discovered personal records tell us:
Bush Failed to Meet Air Force Standards and Refused a Direct Order.
“On this date I ordered that 1st Lt. Bush be suspended from flight status due to failure to perform to USAF/TexANG standards and failure to meet annual physical examination ... as ordered,” says an August 1, 1972 memo.
A memo dated May 19, 1972, five days after Bush was supposed to have completed his physical, summarises a telephone discussion with Bush about how he “can get out of coming to drill from now through November.”
It says Bush was “told he could do ET for three months or transfer.” ET referred to equivalent training, a procedure for meeting training requirements without attending regularly scheduled drills.
The same memo says “we talked abut him getting his flight physical situation fixed” and quotes Bush as saying he would “do that in Alabama if he stays in a flight status.” It also says, “I advised him of our investment in him and his commitment.”
An August 1973 memo shows how political pressure was applied to cover up Bush's failure to serve:
“Stuart has obviously pressured Hedges more about Bush... I’m having trouble running interference and doing my job – Harris gave me a message today from Grip (a headquarters unit) regarding Bush’s OETR (officer efficiency training report) and Stuart is pushing to sugar coat it. Bush wasn’t here during rating period and I don’t have any comments from 187th in Alabama. I will not rate.”
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