Dave Moniz and Jim Drinkard at USA Today are still probling the Bush AWOL story. This one emphasizes the questions about Bush's missing that 1972 physical, which meant that he had to stop flying. Although I notice this was was placed on page 5A.
Why Bush stopped flying remains a mystery USA Today 02/16/04
An examination by USA TODAY of all the Bush records released to the public and interviews with pilots, Bush's Guard comrades and military personnel experts suggests Bush was treated differently from most pilots:
* Bush was accepted into pilot school even though he scored in the 25th percentile on a standardized test. The test was given to all prospective pilots and there was no specific score that disqualified a candidate. In addition, Bush had two arrests for college pranks and four traffic offenses before applying for pilot training. Former and current military pilots say it was uncommon for an applicant to be approved for training with such a record.
* There is no record of a formal procedure called a ''flying evaluation board,'' which normally would have been convened once Bush stopped flying in April 1972.
* Bush's records do not show he was given another job in the Air Guard once he quit flying. Pilots and Bush comrades say his records should reflect some type of new duties he was assigned.
John Richardson, a former Air Guard, Air Force and Air Reserve fighter pilot who served from 1978 to 2001, said regulations for Air Guard pilots during the early 1970s were much more relaxed than they are today. But even by the standards of the time, Richardson said, Bush's selection for pilot training and the circumstances under which he stopped flying are ''highly unusual.''
The three main questions about Bush's Guard service still remain: his service (or lack thereof) between May 1972 and May 1973; missing the physical and thereby giving up flying; and, his release eight months early.
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