Post by Dr. Drum on Sept 15, 2004 10:57:47 GMT -5
Since Vol. 5 now seems not to be working...
Chrisfan, I actually don’t blame you for just skimming that report right now. It’s dry, exacting, technical stuff; all sorts of regulatory requirements and whatnot to absorb. Not the kind of thing I would advise trying to soak up in detail in the middle of a workday. I think, however, that anyone who is interested in this issue needs to sit down with this. It is based on the evidence the White House released on the matter. I’ve not seen a more thorough examination of the issue by anyone else, journalist or military.
I'm on lunch right now and I don’t have a lot of time for a point/counter-point debate on it either. Just to clarify, though, the breach of Code for which Lechliter says Bush should have been subject to a court-martial was his receiving payment for unauthorized training periods, not his failure to fulfill his duty or service time requirements with the Guard (though he says he is guilty of both of those as well). The following excerpts more or less thread the needle on the pay issue:
From "Enlistment and Attendance at Required Training in Texas Air National Guard", pp. 4/5
Air Force Manual ("AFM") 35-3, "Air Reserve Forces Personnel Administration," dated June 25, 1969 ("AFM 35-3"), with its periodic amendments was the primary controlling authority available for this analysis.2 "Satisfactory Participation" was defined as "the manner in which a member meets the training requirements of his reserve assignment." Training consisted of Annual Active Duty for Training ("ANACDUTRA") and Inactive Duty for Training ("INACDUTRA"). 3
A member of the ANGUS could earn points by performing ANACDUTRA and INACDUTRA. ANACDUTRA required orders, placing the member on AD. 4 INACDUTRA had to be supervised and "authorized in advance by competent authority." 5 “INACDUTRA must be authorized in advance by an AF Form 40 or 40a or other means specified in this section. Use AF Form 40 when more than one person participates in the training session; use AF Form 40a when only one person participates. Use AF From [sic] 40 or 40a to authorize UTAs [Unit Training Assemblies], TPs [Training Periods], APDY [Appropriate Duty], and EQT [Equivalent Training]…." 6 Satisfactory participation, therefore, involved regular attendance at prescribed INACDUTRA by a member unless he was properly excused.
In the type of unit7 in which Bush served, regular attendance entailed not having more than four absences in a fiscal year ("FY") that ran from July 1 through June 30 at that time. It meant reporting to the appointed place at the designated time. 8 There were the following types of training within INACDUTRA:
1) TP: An authorized period of training, duty, or instruction performed by members as individuals.
2) UTA: An authorized and scheduled period of training, duty, or instruction, including test alerts by units.
a) APDY: Duty which unit members perform instead of attending a scheduled UTA when absence is from cause beyond their control, such as illness or other personal hardship.
b) EQT: Duty that may be authorized for unit members unable to attend a UTA scheduled while they are on AD in support of the active force.
3) Additional Flying Training Period ("AFTP"): An authorized additional period of flying training. 9
Only an APDY or EQT, therefore, could be used to make up a missed UTA.
From "Pay Records", pp. 30/31
The WH-released records also raise a much more serious issue, however: Fraudulent payment for unauthorized UTAs. The TXANG allowed, certified, and authorized payment for INACDUTRA that the regulation unambiguously precluded. The regulatory time limit for making up authorized missed UTAs was 15 days immediately before, or 30 days immediately after, the scheduled UTA. 172 In November 1972 and January 1972, supposedly while in Alabama, Bush was given credit and paid for 12 UTA periods (6 days) that were outside this time envelope; in July 1973, while in his TXANG unit, Bush was given credit and paid for 8 UTA periods (four days) that were outside the time limitation. Moreover, there is no evidence whatsoever that the absences were authorized: no requests and no approvals. The transaction codes on the finance records show that finance paid Bush for the following INACDUTRA periods, performed in lieu of scheduled UTAs (2 periods per day), that were outside the time limit of 15 days immediately prior to, or within 30 days immediately after, the scheduled UTA:
(Note: At this point in the document there is a table 'date duty performed' vs. 'date duty scheduled')
These payments also explain why Bush requested a discharge on October 1, 1973, instead of any earlier date, although his counseling statement is dated July 30, 1973. Finance certainly would not have paid him for INACDUTRA after he was discharged. It clearly and convincingly demonstrates intent to defraud the government both on Bush’s part and those in the TXANG who approved the payments. 175
From "Conclusion", pp. 34
In the final analysis, the record clearly and convincingly proves he did not fulfill the obligation he incurred when he enlisted in the Air National Guard and completed his pilot training, despite his honorable discharge. He clearly shirked the duty he undertook in 1968 upon enlistment and in 1969 upon completion of his flight training at Moody AF Base. Less than two years after Bush won his solo wings, he walked away from his duty to serve as a fighter pilot while troops were still dying in Vietnam. Moreover, he received fraudulent payments for INACDUTRA.
Chrisfan said:
Drum, I took a look at the report linked on page 23. Now in all fairness, I'll admit that I skimmed it. I did not read it carefully. (at some point today, I have to actually work) So if there's something key that you think I missed, please let me know where it is, and I'll go back and read it.Chrisfan, I actually don’t blame you for just skimming that report right now. It’s dry, exacting, technical stuff; all sorts of regulatory requirements and whatnot to absorb. Not the kind of thing I would advise trying to soak up in detail in the middle of a workday. I think, however, that anyone who is interested in this issue needs to sit down with this. It is based on the evidence the White House released on the matter. I’ve not seen a more thorough examination of the issue by anyone else, journalist or military.
I'm on lunch right now and I don’t have a lot of time for a point/counter-point debate on it either. Just to clarify, though, the breach of Code for which Lechliter says Bush should have been subject to a court-martial was his receiving payment for unauthorized training periods, not his failure to fulfill his duty or service time requirements with the Guard (though he says he is guilty of both of those as well). The following excerpts more or less thread the needle on the pay issue:
From "Enlistment and Attendance at Required Training in Texas Air National Guard", pp. 4/5
Air Force Manual ("AFM") 35-3, "Air Reserve Forces Personnel Administration," dated June 25, 1969 ("AFM 35-3"), with its periodic amendments was the primary controlling authority available for this analysis.2 "Satisfactory Participation" was defined as "the manner in which a member meets the training requirements of his reserve assignment." Training consisted of Annual Active Duty for Training ("ANACDUTRA") and Inactive Duty for Training ("INACDUTRA"). 3
A member of the ANGUS could earn points by performing ANACDUTRA and INACDUTRA. ANACDUTRA required orders, placing the member on AD. 4 INACDUTRA had to be supervised and "authorized in advance by competent authority." 5 “INACDUTRA must be authorized in advance by an AF Form 40 or 40a or other means specified in this section. Use AF Form 40 when more than one person participates in the training session; use AF Form 40a when only one person participates. Use AF From [sic] 40 or 40a to authorize UTAs [Unit Training Assemblies], TPs [Training Periods], APDY [Appropriate Duty], and EQT [Equivalent Training]…." 6 Satisfactory participation, therefore, involved regular attendance at prescribed INACDUTRA by a member unless he was properly excused.
In the type of unit7 in which Bush served, regular attendance entailed not having more than four absences in a fiscal year ("FY") that ran from July 1 through June 30 at that time. It meant reporting to the appointed place at the designated time. 8 There were the following types of training within INACDUTRA:
1) TP: An authorized period of training, duty, or instruction performed by members as individuals.
2) UTA: An authorized and scheduled period of training, duty, or instruction, including test alerts by units.
a) APDY: Duty which unit members perform instead of attending a scheduled UTA when absence is from cause beyond their control, such as illness or other personal hardship.
b) EQT: Duty that may be authorized for unit members unable to attend a UTA scheduled while they are on AD in support of the active force.
3) Additional Flying Training Period ("AFTP"): An authorized additional period of flying training. 9
Only an APDY or EQT, therefore, could be used to make up a missed UTA.
From "Pay Records", pp. 30/31
The WH-released records also raise a much more serious issue, however: Fraudulent payment for unauthorized UTAs. The TXANG allowed, certified, and authorized payment for INACDUTRA that the regulation unambiguously precluded. The regulatory time limit for making up authorized missed UTAs was 15 days immediately before, or 30 days immediately after, the scheduled UTA. 172 In November 1972 and January 1972, supposedly while in Alabama, Bush was given credit and paid for 12 UTA periods (6 days) that were outside this time envelope; in July 1973, while in his TXANG unit, Bush was given credit and paid for 8 UTA periods (four days) that were outside the time limitation. Moreover, there is no evidence whatsoever that the absences were authorized: no requests and no approvals. The transaction codes on the finance records show that finance paid Bush for the following INACDUTRA periods, performed in lieu of scheduled UTAs (2 periods per day), that were outside the time limit of 15 days immediately prior to, or within 30 days immediately after, the scheduled UTA:
(Note: At this point in the document there is a table 'date duty performed' vs. 'date duty scheduled')
These payments also explain why Bush requested a discharge on October 1, 1973, instead of any earlier date, although his counseling statement is dated July 30, 1973. Finance certainly would not have paid him for INACDUTRA after he was discharged. It clearly and convincingly demonstrates intent to defraud the government both on Bush’s part and those in the TXANG who approved the payments. 175
From "Conclusion", pp. 34
In the final analysis, the record clearly and convincingly proves he did not fulfill the obligation he incurred when he enlisted in the Air National Guard and completed his pilot training, despite his honorable discharge. He clearly shirked the duty he undertook in 1968 upon enlistment and in 1969 upon completion of his flight training at Moody AF Base. Less than two years after Bush won his solo wings, he walked away from his duty to serve as a fighter pilot while troops were still dying in Vietnam. Moreover, he received fraudulent payments for INACDUTRA.
