In article et,


Oh, I'm pretty sure he joined the Guard for the same reason many others did
in that era; to reduce the chances of toting a rifle through Vietnam. I
have no problem with that. The Johnson administration chose a policy of not
sending Guard units to Vietnam, why shouldn't people take advantage of that
policy if they can?


You are mis-informed about he National Guard in Vietnam, see below link and
text.
I doubt Bush would have been sent however, The F-102 was not exactly
cutting edge and Bush was not a high time pilot ready for combat.
Im sure he would have went if ordered to however.

http://www.ngaus.org/ngmagazine/sidebar600.asp

The Air National Guard in Vietnam
(June 2000) - Air National Guard units began flying supply missions to Vietnam
in 1965, and the Air Guard was mobilized twice during the Vietnam War.

Eleven squadrons were called up in January 1968 in response to the seizing of
the U.S. Navy ship Pueblo by North Korea, and two tactical fighter squadrons
were, the 166th (Ohio) and the 127th (Kansas) were sent to South Korea.

In May 1968 one aeromedical airservice group and two tactical fighter groups
were federalized.

Four tactical fighter squadrons--the 120th (Colorado), 174th (Iowa), 188th
(New Mexico), and 136th (New York)--deployed to Vietnam. And although not a
Guard unit, the Guard can claim credit for a fifth squadron, the 3755th: 85
percent of this tactical fighter squadron's personnel were Air Guard
volunteers from New Jersey and the District of Columbia.

The Air Force commander in Vietnam, testifying before a Senate committee,
summed up the combat record of these five squadrons:

"I had ... five F-100 Air National Guard squadrons ... Those were the five
best F-100 squadrons in the field. The aircrews were a little older, but they
were more experienced, and the maintenance people were also more experienced
than the regular units. They had done the same work on the weapon system for
years, and they had stability that a regular unit doesn't have."

In addition, a large number of combat-veteran active Air Force pilots joined
the Air National Guard after Vietnam. This group includes Shepperd and Maj.
Gen. E. Gordon Stump, Michigan adjutant general and NGAUS president.