Calhoun's Account Questioned, Gratuitious Points Explained

Memphis Flyer

Well, then. This article explains clearly why the two Alabama pilots would not have missed Bush if he had shown up in Alabama. It also quote a Guard chief administrative from the time on the question of gratuitious points:

Rambo was, however, able to shed some light on the Guard practice, then and now, of assigning annual service “points” to members, based on their record of attendance and participation. The bare minimum number is 50, and reservists meeting standard are said to have had “a good year,” Rambo said. Less than that amount to an “unsatisfactory” year – one calling for penalties assessed against the reservist’ retirement fund and, more immediately, for disciplinary or other corrective action. Such deficits can be written off only on the basis of a “commander’s call,” Rambo said – and only then because of certifiable illness or some other clearly plausible reason.

“The 50-point minimum has always been taken very seriously, especially for pilots,” says Rambo. “The reason is that it takes a lot of taxpayer money to train a pilot, and you don’t want to see it wasted.”

For whatever reason, the elusive Lt. George W. Bush was awarded 41 actual points for his service in both Texas and Alabama during 1972 – though he apparently was given 15 “gratuitous” points -- presumably by his original Texas command -- enough to bring him up from substandard. That would have been a decided violation of the norm, according to Rambo, who stresses that the awarding of gratuitous points was clearly meant only as a reward to reservists for meeting their bottom line.

So the records we have show that Bush did not complete his required duty for 1972 and 1973, and was given gratuitious points in an effort to cover this up.

Another thing: Bush's dental exam in Alabama was on January 6th, 1973. This connects to a January 4-6 period on Bush's SPE for 1972-73. A former girlfriend has said that Bush returned to Alabama for a couple of weeks to make up his time. Let's assume then that the January 4-6 and the January 8-10 service dates are for Alabama.

Okay, then. Where is the paperwork that orders, requests, or approves this makeup time in a unit other than Lt. Bush's Texas unit? We have paperwork on Bush's first request for alternate work in Alabama (to the 9921st), and we have paperwork on Bush's second request (to the 187th). Are we to assume that Bush just wandered back to Alabama and served in another Guard unit without official permission from anyone? No. Then where's the paperwork? What we have is incomplete. Where's the rest of the paperwork, Lt. Bush?