What was Bush*'s reason for joining the National Guard and how does

[Bandit]

that reason hold up in retrospect? He obviously thought the Vietnam war was justified and he had nothing against the military so what was his justification?

[displacedtexan]

1. He signed that document saying he didn't want to go overseas.

He knew he would have been drafted had he not slipped into the guard.

[Bandit]

2. I seem to recall hearing that he decided he wanted to be a pilot

He felt that he would learn how to fly and the National Guard was the best place to learn this. Has he given any other reasons as well?

[realisticphish]

3. his student deferment

had run out, and he didnt want to go to vietnam; after all, THATS for poor people

:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[NewYorkerfromMass]

4. Bush should never even been able to join due to the waiting list

ahead of him. But when daddy's a congressman.....

[buycitgo]

5. here....one of his great quotes

In fairness, Bush has been candid about why he enlisted in the Air National Guard. Like many young men of his generation, he wanted to avoid Vietnam. He told one reporter,

"I was not prepared to shoot my eardrum out with a shotgun in order to get a deferment. Nor was I willing to go to Canada. So I chose to better myself by learning how to fly airplanes."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4114162/

[Sparkly]

7. Simul-post!!

Sorry :)

[Sparkly]

6. To avoid combat

Here's a quote:
"I was not prepared to shoot my eardrum out with a shotgun in order to get a deferment. Nor was I willing to go to Canada. So I chose to better myself by learning how to fly airplanes."
(Said to Houston newspaper but widely quoted, including:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4114162/)

Two other points, besides that he's a hypocritical chickenhawk:

1. He mysteriously jumped over hundreds of names on a waiting list to get into the TANG.

2. It's disingenuous for his defenders to now say the national guard is in Iraq risking their lives, etc.. That was NOT the case during Vietnam. The guard was a way to avoid going over.