GEORGE W. BUSH COMMITTED MULTIPLE VIOLATIONS OF THE UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE DURING THE VIETNAM WAR INCLUDING BEING ABSENT WITHOUT LEAVE (UCMJ ARTICLE 86)

Bush was Absent Without Leave (AWOL) for a period of more than a year from his National Guard assignments in Texas and Alabama, which is a violation of Uniform Code of Military Justice. According to the UCMJ, a person who is AWOL for more than 30 days with evidence of no intent to return to duty is guilty of Desertion.

Timeline of Bush's National Guard Service

Major events in George Bush's service in the Texas National Guard, according to National Guard Bureau records:

- Jan. 19, 1968: Bush completes Air Force officer qualifications test in New Haven, Conn., while attending Yale University.

- May 27, 1968: Walter B. Staudt, commander of the Texas National Guard, interviews Bush and recommends he be accepted for pilot training. Bush's application for enlistment in the Guard is approved.

-June 1968: Bush receives bachelor of arts degree from Yale.

- July 12, 1968: A three-member Federal Recognition Examining Board reports Bush is qualified for promotion to 2nd Lieutenant in the 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron.

- July 14, 1968: Bush attends basic military training in San Antonio.

- Aug. 25, 1968: Completes basic military training.

- Nov. 26, 1968 - Dec. 2, 1969: Attends undergraduate pilot training with the 3559th Student Squadron, Moody Air Force Base, Ga. He is trained to fly standard Air Force aircraft, including the T-31, T-37, and T-39.

- Dec. 29, 1969 - Jan. 20, 1970: Trainee, 111th Squadron, Ellington Air Force Base, near Houston.

-J an. 11, 1970: Assigned flying duty as a pilot of F-102 fighter interceptors, 111th Squadron at Ellington.

- Aug. 24, 1970: Three-member board recommends 2nd Lt. Bush for promotion to first lieutenant. Bush later receives the promotion.

- 1971: Participates in drills and alerts at Ellington. Begins work for Houston-based agricultural company.

- May 1972: Bush asks for and receives permission to continue his duties in Alabama while he works as political director on the Senate campaign of Winton M. Blount, a friend of his father. Loses flight credentials after missing physical exam.

- Sept. 6, 1972: Bush's request for a three-month transfer to 187th TAC Recon Group, Montgomery, Ala. is approved so he can work as political director for a Senate campaign. Bush was ordered to report to General William Turnipseed. In interviews, Turnipseed, and his administrative officer at the time, Kenneth K. Lott, have stated that they had no memory of Bush ever reporting.

According to the records available from the National Guard, the period between May 1972 and Sept 1973 remains unaccounted for. George W. Bush himself has refused to answer questions about this period in his life, other than to state that he fulfilled all of his National Guard commitments. If this were true, why is there no record of him fulfilling these commitments at either of his posts in Texas or Alabama? Why is there not one commanding officer that can come forward and state unequivocally that Bush reported for duty?

- November 1972: Bush returns to his unit at Ellington in Texas.

Seven months later, at Ellington Air Force Base in Texas, Bush's two superior officers were unable to complete his annual evaluation covering the year from May 1, 1972 to April 30, 1973 because, "Lt. Bush has not been observed at this unit during the period of this report." Both superior officers, who are now dead, and also Ellington's top personnel officer at the time, mistakenly concluded that Bush served his final year of service in Alabama. Bush returned to live in Texas after the senatorial election in November, 1972, so this is obviously not true.

- May-July 1973: Participates in non-flying drills at Ellington. Works at inner-city poverty program earlier in the year.

- Sept. 18, 1973: Bush receives permission to transfer to reserve status and is placed on inactive guard duty about six months before six-year commitment ends. Attends Harvard Business School in the fall.

- Oct. 1, 1973: Receives honorable discharge.

A former officer in the Texas National Guard says an aide to George W. Bush scrubbed Bush’s military records to get rid of the disparities between those files and an account of Bush’s military service in his official biography.

Bill Burkett, a former lieutenant colonel in the Guard, said, “As the State Plans Officer for the Texas National Guard, I was on full-time duty at Camp Mabry when [Bush aide] Dan Bartlett was cleansing the George W Bush file prior to G.W.'s presidential announcement. For most soldiers at Camp Mabry, this was a generally known event. The archives were closely scrutinized to make sure that the Bush autobiography plans and the record did not directly contradict each other. In essence it was the script of the autobiography which Dan Bartlett and his small team used to scrub a file to be released. This effort was further involved by General Daniel James and Chief of Staff William W. Goodwin at Camp Mabry.”

Burkett stated, “I knew one person who worked within the records scrub who commented to me, while at the smoke area, that the Bush files really showed some problems with his ‘blue-blood service record.’”

He maintains the question of whether Bush completed his military obligations can be easily verified. “In fact, I have been disturbed by the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) material published that the two critical elements to answer [the] questions were not included.”

Burkett contends, “The review of military personnel files is very basic. Within the review and audit of a file, however, certain critical documents become the spine upon which all else hangs.

Alluding to the questions raised by Senators Bob Kerrey and Daniel Inouye at a press conference, Burkett said, “In answer to Senator Kerrey's comments, finding the answer to this issue is very simple. The Bush campaign staff can simply provide the pay records and detailed retirement points records for Lieutenant Bush. Until that is done, everything else is purely speculation as to when and where George W. Bush was during his obligation period. A unit technician’s personal notes about duty performance is not official. Handwritten and scribbled notations are also not official. The pay records, however, simply specify without a doubt and officially, when Lt. Bush performed ordered duty and that the US Air Force paid him for it.”

Said Burkett, “Mr. Dan Bartlett was responsible for assembling the military files for the media's review. He is also the point man to the questions on this issue. Why has Mr. Bartlett not compiled and shared these critical pieces of the Bush's military service record? Was it an omission of the Freedom of Information Act file or does it not exist? I am sure that the Pentagon would be happy to quickly access the Air Force Reserve personnel files in order to clarify this issue for the American public. It would be a disaster to withhold this basic information until after an election and then again hold the American presidency hostage with lawsuits, investigations and inquiries for his [Bush’s] term.

As for what the obligations of a Guardsman are and the punishments that may be meted out if those obligations aren’t met, Burke said:

“Readiness is both a personal and unit responsibility. The Texas Code of Military Justice [a State Statute and a version of the US Code of Military Justice] defines the attendance requirements of each soldier. Within this statute, there are also other charges that directly apply whenever a soldier does not show up for a scheduled drill, active duty training or other special training as ordered.

“The most basic of those punishable acts is failure to obey a lawful order.

“The military operates upon three basic tenets. First is duty. Duty is based upon individual conviction, discipline, and character. It follows that when ordered to duty of any type, the individual soldier will have prepared him or herself with training and logistical preparedness.

“The second tenet is honor. Within this tenet lie the personal characteristics of telling the exact and whole truth, sharing of factual information and refraining from dishonest and distracting actions such as rumors, innuendo and supposition.

“Finally the tenet of country. This tenet captures the selflessness of soldiering and leadership. It places the symbolic flag of the nation and its needs above the needs of oneself. Therefore individuals are expected to care for their military mission and soldiers, sailors and airmen before themselves. It places teamwork above individual accomplishment, and nation building above career building.

Not following a lawful order is a court martial offense. Absent without leave is a court martial offense. But it also a court martial offense for supervisors and commanders to knowingly and fraudulently provide pay (either cash or retirement points) to non-performing individuals.”