A question for you Dianavan, that was sort of asked earlier. As a teacher do you give favourable grades to pupils because their parents are rich? Do you know any teacher who does?

Oh, Bobert, all I know about the Air National Guard is what I have read about them and what I have asked them. During the period that GWB served in the ANG, guardsmen were required to accumulate a minimum of 50 points to meet their yearly obligation. That would mean Bobert that you could fulfil your yearly obligation to the Air National Guard in six weeks. Today that minimum requirement is one week-end a month and two weeks every year.

It's interesting the observation made by Bobert about the ANG:

"Especially the Air Nationmal Guard where you aren't expected to take two weeks off every summer and go play war at a US military base... The Air National Guard was a lot looser than that... It was just above honor system after you got trained... Very flexible... Not like the real military at all... Do you know that???"

Key words out of that lot are "looser" than the US Military, more "flexible" that the US Military.

The AWOL story - the mythical produce of, anti-Bush film-maker Michael Moore and Terry McAuliffe, erstwhile chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

No questions arise at all about Lt. G.W.Bush prior to 1972. Evaluations on his performance being as follows:

The 1969 - 1970 evaluation said Bush "clearly stands out as a top notch fighter interceptor pilot" and was "a natural leader whom his contemporaries look to for leadership."

The 1970 - 1971 evaluation called Bush "an exceptionally fine young officer and pilot" who "continually flies intercept missions with the unit to increase his proficiency even further."

The 1971 - 1972 evaluation called Bush "an exceptional fighter interceptor pilot and officer."

"In 1972 Bush asked for permission to go to Alabama to work on a Senate campaign. His superior officers said OK. Requests like that weren't unusual." - Source - retired Col. William Campenni, who flew with Bush in 1970 and 1971.

"In 1972, there was an enormous glut of pilots," Campenni says. "The Vietnam War was winding down, and the Air Force was putting pilots in desk jobs. In '72 or '73, if you were a pilot, active or Guard, and you had an obligation and wanted to get out, no problem. In fact, you were helping them solve their problem."

So in 1972 Bush stopped flying, one possible logical reason for that being that at that time the Alabama Air National Guard had no fighter squadrons equipped with the Delta Dagger Delta F-102A, which was starting to be taken out of service with US Air Force and Air Guard Units (IIRC by 1974 they had all been phased out). From May 1972 to May 1973, he earned just 56 points — not much, but enough to meet his yearly requirement (50 points, remember ANG, loose and flexible).

Then, in 1973, Lt.G.W.Bush made plans to leave the Guard and go to Harvard Business School, in June and July of 1973, he accumulated 56 points, enough to meet the minimum requirement for the 1973-1974 year. Having done that he put in his application for early release from service. This request was granted and he was given permission to go.

Lt.G.W.Bush received an honorable discharge after serving five years, four months and five days of his original six-year commitment. By that time, however, he had accumulated enough points in each year to cover six years of service. He was by no means the only ANG member who was treated in this way, he was by no means a member of a select elite who were treated this way, there were many members of the ANG who applied for early discharge and had their requests granted. Don't ask Michael Moore or Terry McAuliffe to bring that to your attention - it would spoil their fairytale.

On the flying medical thing Don, you only take a flying medical if you are actually assigned to flying duties. The Alabama ANG had nothing for Lt.G.W.Bush to fly, the type of aircraft that he was qualified as being "air combat capable" in was being phased out and he had less than eighteen months left to serve. That Don is insufficient time to retrain on another aircraft type, which in all probability would have been a F-4 Phantom. Completely different kettle of fish to a single-seat F-102, the F-4 being a twin-seat all weather interceptor (Pilot flies the aircraft, the navigator, or observer (in RN Fleet Air Arm parlance), fights the aircraft. It is perfectly understandable given the circumstances, that the loose and flexible ANG, that Bobert was at pains to describe, was so accommodating to a young pilot who had accumulated the necessary points to complete his service and who had other things to do than warm the seat of a chair behind a desk in a Reserve Guard Unit.