www.ngaus.org/ngmagazine/main101.asp(Pardon me, but I believe this to be a more credible source.)
National Guard Association of the United States
George W. Bush is the latest in a long line of U.S. presidents who once served in the National Guard.
By Lisa Daniel
By now, most Americans know that President-elect George W. Bush has made history in several ways: He's the son of a former president who took the closest election on record while not taking the popular vote.
But Bush will have another distinction when he is sworn in as the 43rd president Jan. 20: He will be the first former Air Guardsman in the White House and the 19th president to have been a member of the militia or the Guard.
While that distinction may be lost on most civilians, it no doubt has caught the attention of the country's nearly half-million Guardsmen who now wonder what the Bush presidency mean for them.
While presidents don't have the clout over single entities--such as the Guard--they once did, they still wield power in two important ways, says retired Col. Michael Doubler, a former National Guard Bureau historian. First, the president appoints the National Guard Bureau chief. Secondly, the president sets policy and support for the military.
History indicates that presidents who were Guardsmen take an interest in citizen soldiers as commanders in chief, Doubler said.
The list of presidents who served in the militia or National Guard features the four American icons honored at Mount Rushmore: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Other Guard presidents include Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, and Harry S Truman.
The last two presidents to have been citizen soldiers--Roosevelt and Truman--were perhaps the ones who did the most to shape the modern National Guard. Roosevelt's first message to Congress after becoming president in 1901 was to get a 'thorough military education,' not just in the regular military, but also the Guard. By the time he left office, Guard units were receiving better pay, equipment and training.
Truman commanded a Missouri Guard artillery battery in France during World War I. Then Capt. Truman told his troops: "I'd rather be here than president of the United States." He later became president in 1945. The Air National Guard was created under his watch.
"What they learned in the Guard had a great impact on decisions they made as presidents," Doubler said. "They learned qualities of giving and receiving orders and they understood military operations."
Still, the expectation that presidents serve in the military before taking office is a mid-20th century phenomenon that began during the Cold War, when the nation maintained a large standing military, Doubler said.
President Clinton was widely criticized for avoiding the draft during the Vietnam War. Bush also was accused of skirting the draft by joining the Texas Air Guard in 1968. He became an F-102 fighter pilot before being discharged as a first lieutenant in 1973.
Doubler says it is unfair to criticize those who joined the Guard during the Vietnam War.
"The government allowed it and in many ways encouraged it," he said "There were a lot of things the government did to authorize people to serve in places other than the front lines."
Bush's drill performance also stirred controversy during the campaign. Some reports charged that he was absent for a year. However, probably the most comprehensive media review of Bush's military records concluded that while he, "served irregularly after the spring of 1972 and got an expedited discharge, he did accumulate the days of service required for him for his ultimate honorable discharge." The review was done by Georgemag.com, the online version of the magazine founded by the late John F. Kennedy Jr. Guardsmen say Bush's service record is not unusual.
"In any six-year time frame you probably can find some problems," says retired Rep. G.V. 'Sonny' Montgomery, D-Miss., founder of the House Guard and Reserve Caucus. "Just learning to fly the F-102 and not getting hurt and not hurting anybody is an accomplishment."
Montgomery called Bush's election, "nothing but a plus for the Guard."
The retired Mississippi National Guard major general supported Bush so strongly for president that he served as co-chair of the Veterans for Bush campaign, even though he is a Democrat. He said that the Guard will improve under Bush's leadership because he understands the life of Guardsmen and he's proud of his service.
