Reply #11: sent e-mail to c-span

[trof]

I am so angry and frustrated tears are running down my cheeks.
I tried to get in on the Campenni segment this morning, but could not.
I am 62 years old. I was a pilot in the Alabama Air National Guard from 1963 until 1971.

About Mr. Campenni, here's the lead paragraph from a letter to the editor he recently wrote:
While our wonderful freedoms, won and protected by the military that liberals (a.k.a. Democrats) like your respondent Tom Hutchins (The Observer May 9) abhor, allow him to spew his hate-filled opinions against George Bush, they do not allow him to deceive your readers with a blatant misstatement of the facts (a.k.a. lies).
William Campenni
Herndon
http://archive.observernews.com/stories/archives/viewpoints/2003view/051603/16letr7.shtml


So, we see where Mr. Campenni is coming from.
I agree with him about the "sea of ignorance" concerning the guard.
Here's what I know:
If I remember correctly, my Air National Guard paychecks came from the U.S. Treasury Department. We were paid quarterly. On the first month of a new quarter, we were paid for the previous quarter.

The Guard doesn't pay you if you aren't there to answer "present".
It should be a simple matter to see how much income Bush received from the Department of Treasury each year of his Guard obligation from his income tax records:
Total annual income from Air national Guard (Treasury), divided by daily pay rate for a 1st Lt. on flying status (base pay + flight pay), equals number of days served.
May have to be adjusted for time spent on non-flying status (which should NOT have happened, see 2 below).

You can do the math on how much he SHOULD have received, had he been present each time he should have been.
12 monthly drill week-ends a year
(1 day's pay for each 4 hour period) = 48 days pay
12 REQUIRED Flying Training Periods
(FTPs) per quarter X 4 quarters = 48 days pay
2 weeks Annual Summer Encampment = 14 days pay
110 days pay annually

Anything less for the six year obligation following completion of pilot training indicates no-show.

Three more points:

1. It's highly unusual that Bush was mustered out as a 1st Lt. If you kept
your nose relatively clean, you made 1st Lt. 3 years after your commission
as a 2nd Lt. Two years later, you made Captain. As long as you just put
your time in, it was automatic. That he didn't make Captain prior to his
discharge is very telling. Reason: He wasn't there long enough, not enough time-in-grade.

2.a. Failure to pass your annual flight physical is one thing.
Failure to show up for it is another thing entirely. It results in automatic grounding
and is a violation of Air Force and ANG regs. Refusal is subject to disciplinary action,
including court martial.
2.b. ONLY a certified Air Force Flight Surgeon may administer a pilot's flight
physical. Not your "personal physician back in Houston", and not even the Mayo Clinic.
Not anybody who isn't a certified flight surgeon. They were available in Birmingham,
Huntsville, Montgomery, Selma, and Mobile.


3. An Honorable Discharge is NOT "evidence" that he served his time. This
is just the butt-covering "talking point" used by him and his supporters.
It IS evidence that his commanding officers violated ANG rules and
regulations. It's called "covering one's derriere". Had they NOT given him
an honorable discharge it would have called attention to the fact that they
gave him a pass on his absences and pointed up a serious, punishable
dereliction of duty on their part.


NOW...you may think I've got some kind of burr under my saddle about
this AWOL thing. You'd be right.

Massey Lambard
Foley, Alabama
former Captain/pilot, 1963-1971
RF-84/F
106th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
117th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing
Alabama Air National Guard