Chimp's Early Discharge Request Discovered

[kskiska]

If this was posted yesterday, I missed it. Sorry.

Certain documents available on the Web are so piquant that commentary seems superfluous. In honor of Veterans Day, Chatterbox serves up an objet trouvé concerning President George W. Bush's Vietnam-era service in the Texas Air National Guard. The found object is young Dubya's request—four months after his superiors reported they'd seen hide nor hair of him during the previous year—that he be discharged early so he can attend Harvard Business School. Enjoy. (You may need to click on the lower right-hand corner of the document to enlarge it to readable form.)

Link to discharge request:


more…
http://slate.msn.com/id/2091113/

[papau]

1. Was it approved?

:-(

He had administratively been found guilty of being AWOL/deserter and had been punished by being given a 6 month extension to his required time in the Guard.

Oct 1 as I recall was the end of the punishment time for the AWOL - so I expect it was approved.

[Brian Sweat]

4. Do you have links to documents that show that he was fond guilty of

being AWOL?

[Zero Gravitas]

5. After 30 days you are no longer AWOL

you are a DESERTER. What is the punishment for desertion in "a time of war" I wonder?

[wuushew]

7. Wasn't the "war" technically over for the U.S. by Sept. 73?

1973

Cease-fire Signed in Paris: A cease-fire agreement that, in the words of Richard Nixon, "brings peace with honor in Vietnam and Southeast Asia," is signed in Paris by Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho. The agreement is to go into effect on January 28.

End of Draft Announced

Last American Troops Leave Vietnam

Hearings on Secret Bombings Begin: The Senate Armed Services Committee opens hearing on the US bombing of Cambodia. Allegations are made that the Nixon administration allowed bombing raids to be carried out during what was supposed to be a time when Cambodia's neutrality was officially recognized. As a result of the hearings, Congress orders that all bombing in Cambodia cease effective at midnight, August 14.

Kissinger and Le Duc Tho Win Peace Prize: The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Henry Kissinger of the United States and Le Duc Tho of North Vietnam. Kissinger accepts the award, while Tho declines, saying that a true peace does not yet exist in Vietnam.


http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/vietnam/timeline.htm

[Zero Gravitas]

9. Good point

Can we lock him up in Leavenworth anyway? Please?

[dreissig]

11. Bush Wasn't AWOL

As a reservist, Bush couldn't be AWOL because that's only for active duty personnel. There's some other term that applies, and it doesn't lead to the next level, Deserter.

[TacticalPeek]

13. Bush was AWOL.

He was not a reservist (which certainly can be prosecuted for AWOL or desertion), he was Texas Air National Guard. All members of state National Guards are automatically members of the National Guard of the United States also.

Usually non-activated NG AWOLS are disciplined or prosecuted by their state systems, as opposed to the UCMJ, although it may sometimes be applied.

Normal procedure would have been to drop him from the unit rolls as a deserter, and notify the sheriff's office and FBI.

[William Seger]

14. In the Army NG...

When I was in the Army National Guard at that same time, the punishment for missing drills was activation in the regular Army, and if you didn't show up for that, then you were treated as regular Army AWOL. Seems W just slipped through the cracks.

[On the Road]

2. Thanks for Posting

I know in general about the AWOL charge, but what does this document add? Does it tend to exonerate Bush for at least a portion of the missing service time? Does it show continued preferential treatment?

[Bandit]

3. It shows he had no interest in fighting for his country

He did not want to even finish his escape from real duty during war. He is a coward first class.

[TNOE]

6. This is a keeper

it needs to stay bookmarked - for all those in denial.

[Terwilliger]

dupe

...

[Terwilliger]

8. Does this mean anything?

or is it just another interesting political trinket?

[dreissig]

12. It Doesn't Mean Anything

Standard military regulations allow early discharge for a number of reasons. Farm boys can get out early to work in the harvest. Bush got out early to attend school. No string pulling there. This is a dead issue.

[TacticalPeek]

15. While early release was routinely granted,

the conditions for each type of early release must be met. This requires the ETS clerk to review the applicant's 201 file and other materials. After reviewing Bush's record, no ETS clerk in my HQ unit would have passed his application on for approval, and no personnel officer would have approved it. Records like his were stapled to a CONFIDENTIAL flag, contained a Bad Conduct discharge, and were hand-carried by an MP to the gate, along with the miscreant.

[TacticalPeek]

10. ""Lt Bush has not been observed at this unit

during the period of report."

The Military Records of George Walker Bush (Document 9)