Calpundit has unearthed some real evidence on this issue. Evidence the President may not be able to fight off.
The President's ARF (Army Reserve Force) records show dates that record duty for the 1972-1973 time period, which might make you think that the President satisfactorily showed up for duty during the disputed time period. Alas, it turns out that this is not the case.
The ARF is where Guard members were sent as disciplinary action for not showing up for their normal duty assignments. In the President's case, this means after he went to Alabama and never showed up for his flight physical. ARF members performed no actual duty and were liable to be called into regular service. They also were not paid.
As Kevin at Calpundit points out, the ARF record covers the time that the President was in Alabama, as well as the time he was back in Texas. It also shows that he did not put in the 36 duty-days that has been claimed in the past. The ARF status also explains why there are no pay records to confirm that Lt. Bush completed the final two years of his National Guard commitment.
What this means is that essentially the President blew off the final two years of his National Guard duty. It also explains why his military records have never been fully released to the public (despite his claims to the contrary on Sunday).
This also raises a perplexing issue: is it worse to blatantly dodge the draft, or is it worse to bail out on actual service when you become disinterested?
Posted by Chris at February 9, 2004 12:04 PM