End of Issue #8

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Editorial and Rants

Fuck You Too John sKerry!

An Open Letter to Dan Rather From Some Old Fighter Pilots

In your haste to damage the reputation of President Bush, you maligned the Air National Guard and the Air Reserve, cast doubt on the veracity of CBS News, violated journalistic ethics and disgraced yourself. You belatedly accepted the fact that the documents were forged and obtained from dubious sources. Yet you still maintain with an air of certitude that the "thrust" (substance) of the forged documents is correct and therefore "proves" your assertions. This not only angered the Air National Guard, but you stirred up a small hornet's nest among fighter pilots and those who have many years of operational experience at all levels of Air Force fighter operations.

It is not our intention to accuse you of "bias" nor are we participating in some "Republican" attack. We are a diverse group, and come in all sorts of political persuasions and opinions. I assure you, as fighter pilots we consider President Bush as one of our own.

We are a group of retired U.S. Air Force officers who served as fighter pilots. Later in our careers some became commanders of Air Force Squadrons and Wings and some served as operations and staff officers. In my group, we have pilots who flew the F-84, F-86 and the "Century Series" aircraft such as the F-100, F-101 and RF-101, F-102, F-104 and the F-4 in peacetime and in combat. Many of us flew with the Air National Guard, some served as advisors. We share great respect and admiration for the ANG'S valued contributions and capability in combat and in peace. In addition to my experience flying the RF-101 in Europe and in Vietnam combat missions, I was member of the 9th Air Force Inspector General's team as an Operations Inspector. Our mission was to conduct Operational Readiness Inspections (ORI's) with all National Guard and Air Force Reserve units in the Eastern US. It was our job to evaluate the ability of a unit to quickly mobilize and perform its assigned wartime mission. I believe we are qualified to examine the facts about Lt Bush and his service.

We concluded that research of known and published information make it impossible for you to honestly substantiate your claim that the "substance" of this fantasy is true. You stated that Mary Mapes had worked on this story for four years. If this is to be believed, as an unbiased researcher, she should have called or interviewed more than a dozen Air Force people who knew Lt Bush and know how a fighter squadron operates. Their detailed first-hand accounts have been published. Had she maintained contact with some of these people, their observations would have led you to trash the forged memos immediately Aside from a few details cited below, there are other issues that should be examined by the independent panel headed by Governor Thornburgh and Mr. Boccardi. This panel was appointed to probe your story about President Bush's National Guard service. Either through bias or neglect, your credibility is seriously damaged by failing to consider some very significant facts. You should be prepared to answer some tough questions. Shifting blame to "political opponents" is not a valid defense for you.

We became increasingly dismayed at a growing "Urban Legend" created by a variety of "myths" about Lt Bush's service in the Air National Guard. We assumed this urban legend would die a natural death for lack of proof. Not being politically inclined, we chose not to make an issue of this. We recognized the myths were based on unfounded accusations, unproved assertions, facts taken out of context, and in most cases outright fabrications. The most outrageous of course, is the accusation by a Hollywood movie producer who accused Lt Bush of "desertion". It was followed almost immediately by Democratic Senate leaders accusing Lt . Bush of being "AWOL" and recently, of "disappearing for a year". Other slanders included evading the Vietnam War, being a beneficiary of favoritism, and deliberate "defiance of orders" to report for an annual flight physical.

The falsehoods continued and became politicized. Your public affirmation of this Urban Legend on "60 Minutes" was the last straw for us. At this point we began to dig into our files, share mutual experiences, and review letters and articles published by primary sources ­ pilots who flew with him, commanders who selected him for flight training, commanders who rated him and others familiar with the 111th TFS. We concluded that you ignored all available evidence and created one of the greatest journalistic frauds of the decade. You still maintain that the "substance" of the forged memos is true. There is not one shred of evidence to support your assertion. The forgeries were written for a purpose -- to validate some of the myths in this urban legend.

Your CBS presentation used bogus memos to support claims that Lt Bush "defied" orders to take an annual flight physical, and then received "orders" that he was disqualified and faced formal disciplinary action. For good measure, the memos added other untrue allegations about his performance ratings.

You and your "fact checkers" completely ignored a core reality that blows these myths apart: There was no formal requirement for Lt Bush to take an annual flight physical during his "birth month" of July 1972!. As of April, 1972 Lt Bush was out of the flying business. He was "surplus" and had received permission for a temporary to transfer to Alabama ANG for non-flying duties. Taking a flight physical was purely optional for Lt Bush.! You should know that, starting in April 1972, all F-102 fighter interceptors in the 111th TIS were being replaced by F-101 aircraft. Advanced transition training to become "combat ready" in another aircraft is a lengthy process. Lt Bush did not have sufficient time left in his commitment to make it cost-effective. Another major factor is that in 1972, a huge surplus of experience fighter pilots were returning from their 100 missions "tours"in Vietnam. Many left active duty status and pursued civilian careers, but also wanted to continue flying fighters with the National Guard. During this time some ANG pilots who were approaching the end of their commitment being were being granted "early release" and honorable discharge. By this time, Lt Bush had accumulated 954 "points" for his flying, drills and frequent runway alerts It is well over the minimum 50 points a year. He had over 500 hours of flying time. This was substantial, considering the difficult and hazardous 1 1/2 hour intercept sorties in the F-102.

We concluded that Lt Col Killian, the Squadron Commander, would have never written such documents. There is not enough space to cite all the reasons but they are well documented. Had Mary Mapes interviewed pilots and commanders who worked with Lt Bush at the time, you would have learned that the documents proved nothing. Here are just a few facts that caught our immediate attention and aroused our suspicions about the "memos":

Flight physicals, annual flight proficiency checks, and annual instrument flying checks are a routine administrative functions worked out with the pilot and the operations people in the squadron. The Squadron "Ops" people monitor and closely coordinate forthcoming events. Squadron Commanders never issue formal written "orders" for flight physical. In your first forgery, the formal written "order" to perform a physical two months before the required time is an unheard-of absurdity. When it appears that a pilot may have a problem with a scheduled event, it is worked out informally well ahead of time. Had this been a valid requirement, "Sqdn Ops" would have taken aggressive measures to insure that he received his physical exam during the month of July. There are times when a pilot may lapse for some significant reason. A routine notice from the Flight Surgeon's office and the operations section would note the disqualification. The physical could be performed later for reinstatement. A Squadron Commander would not issue a bogus "flight disqualification order" or a or threaten mythical "Flight Review Board" (IAW "AFM 35-13") -- directive is not applicable for such an event and it not called a "Flight Review Board".

The infamous "sugarcoating" memo: It cited an "OETR" ­ this stood out like a sore thumb. The universal USAF term is "OER" (Officer Effectiveness Report). I have been told that "OETR" is an Army term -- perhaps shedding some light on the identity of the forger. It also implied that some memos would be inserted in Lt Bush's OER folder. OER folders are strictly controlled in the Air Force and no extraneous memos or materials are allowed in the folders. Material in my files indicate that Lt Bush had receive commendable OER's from Lt Col Killian who rated him among his top pilots. Another commander placed him at the "top 5%" of his squadron.

The "AWOL" myth: There is no such thing in the National Guard. Drills can be missed for personal or civilian career reasons, but these are worked out informally. If a person completely stops attendance, he would be discharged and become eligible for the Draft as 1A. Attending "drills" at another unit are not unusual and arranged informally with the unit commander. Before the so-called "orders" were issued, Lt Bush had Col Killian's permission to temporarily work with the Alabama ANG, but was remained formally assigned to his Texas ANG squadron.


The "Preferential Treatment" myth: A published article by a retired Air Force General describes the highly selective and competitive process for selecting Lt Bush and Texas ANG pilots. Furthermore, having served as a jet pilot training instructor in the late 1950's I can appreciate the rigorous training standards. An National Guard pilot is placed in full-time active duty status when he is in the USAF pilot training program. Unless he is among the best, he will be dismissed. The myth about "500 applicants" is ludicrous. It does not apply to the aspiring pilots who seek flight training. Very few aspirants meet the educational, physical and mental standards for being accepted in the pilot training program.

The "Avoiding Vietnam" myth: When Lt Bush completed his year in advanced Pilot Training, the Squadron was deploying some F-102's to Vietnam under the "Palace Alert" program. Lt Bush expressed interest, but did not have enough flying time to qualify. This program was later terminated for operational reasons.

There are other documents in my files written by people ranging from his enlisted crew chief up to a retired General Officer. These include: Accounts describing Bush's acceptance by the 111th TIS Squadron; accounts by his fellow students at pilot training; comments by his flight instructors; accounts by several pilots (including his room-mate and wing-man); as well as activities in alert hangars. There are letters from pilots who flew on his wing; statements by an officer who attended drills with him in Alabama; and laudatory statements by officers who rated him.

Despite these accounts, you ignored the reality of the hazardous overwater Air Intercept missions and Canadian NORAD missions. When initiated by an air-defense radar site, a five-minute alert started with the sound of a klaxon horn in the alert hangar at any time of day or night. Aircraft were to be airborne within 5 minutes. I don't envy rolling out of my cot at 3AM for a 500 ft low-altitude intercept mission over the ocean white-caps to locate and identify another aircraft, or the "pop-ups" to 40,000 ft for high-altitude intercepts, often at very high rates of closure. This was in an aircraft that had limited range, no refueling capability, primitive flight instruments and radar, unreliable engines and no nearby ocean search and rescue capability. During Lt Bush's service, there were several crashes and fatalities in his squadron. Advanced fighter training also took its toll of accidents and fatalities. This was by no means a safe, cushy "flying club for rich boys". It was hard and arduous flying and no one in my group would want to trade our own aircraft or our mission requirements for Lt Bush's arduous alert duties.

You arrogantly announced that President Bush would not respond to your questions. Minimal research by your staff would have answered any and all the questions. President Bush (unlike Senator Kerry), signed a "Form 180" that released any and all relevant documents held by the U.S. Air Force. In addition to the files released by USAF There is also an abundance of columns and letters published by authoritative sources who are easy to contact.In light of the overwhelming evidence that you ignored, I believe it is up to YOU to answer some questions, if not to the public then to the investigating board that will examine your fiasco. Among the questions regarding bias, why did Mary Mapes depend on sources who had a long history of political activism and no experience in Air Force squadron operations? Some of her "sources" had refuted their previous claims; others had been investigated previously and proved to be untruthful. Was it bias or was it sloppy research? There are many questions that YOU should answer to your own investigation board.

Written by Lt Col Nicholas Pishvanov (USAF Ret). Fairfax, Virginia