Bush Praises Guard, Says He's Proud of Service
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Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2004
LAS VEGAS -- President Bush, his Vietnam-era military service the subject of dispute, said Tuesday he is proud of his stint in the Air National Guard and told members strained by today's wars that he is trying to make their lives easier.
"Nineteen individuals have served both in the National Guard and as president of the United States, and I am proud to be one of them," Bush said at the National Guard Association of the United States conference.
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Members of the Guard are fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, and helping recovery efforts after Florida hurricanes, Bush said. "I am proud to be their commander in chief, and I respect and honor all of those who serve in the United States Armed Forces - active, Guard and Reserve."
Bush did not mention the election-year tempest over unexplained gaps in his service in the Guard. The Democratic National Committee sought to fuel the controversy by releasing a nearly three-minute video accusing Bush of using family connections to get into the Guard and out of the Vietnam War.
The Pentagon's reliance on the National Guard and Reserve grew quickly after Bush authorized a partial mobilization of reserve forces in the days following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and they currently comprise about 40 percent of the entire U.S. force in Iraq.
As of last week, there were 165,000 National Guard and Reserve troops on active duty in support of the war on terrorism, including those providing extra security in the United States.
The combat duty that some Guard units are doing in Iraq is their first since World War II, and they are suffering large numbers of casualties. At least 175 Guard and Reserve troops have died in Iraq since the invasion was launched in March 2003 _ more than a third of those in the past five months.
Bush said he recognized those difficulties, and said his administration was working to ease their burden.
"I know this time of call-ups, alerts, mobilizations, and deployments has been difficult for Guard members and their families and employers," Bush said.
"We are working to provide you at least 30 days notification before you are mobilized, so you have time to make arrangements," he said. "We are working to give you as much certainty as possible about the length of your mobilization - you deserve to know when you can expect to resume civilian life."
The Pentagon also was trying to minimize the number of deployment extensions and "repeat mobilizations," he said.
The president outlined the history of America's citizen-soldiers, and touted his efforts to improve living and work condition for today's Guard, before turning to Iraq. As he does in almost every campaign stop, Bush noted that rival Sen. John Kerry and Democratic running mate Sen. John Edwards joined most members of the Senate to give him authority in October 2002 to wage war.
He said Kerry and Edwards later voted against funding for the war, not mentioning that his own administration once threatened a veto of the measure and that Kerry had supported one version of the bill. He noted that Kerry has both called for more money for Iraq and asserted that Bush has squandered money there that could be spent in the United States.
"It is critical that the president of the United States speak clearly and consistently at this time of great threat in our world, and not change positions because of expediency or pressure," Bush said.
Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran, addresses the same group Thursday.
Bush spoke at the National Guard conference in the afternoon following a morning campaign event in Colorado's Arapahoe County, which he won by more than 15,000 votes in 2000. The rally near Denver was focused on health care, but the crowd loudly applauded Bush's tough talk against terrorists.
"We're staying on the offensive," he said. "We'll strike the terrorists abroad so we will not have to face them at home."
Two hecklers disrupted his speech, and the crowd shouted them down with chants of "Four more years!" As the protesters were removed, one shouted "Get outta here!" and the other held up the two-finger peace sign.
The battle against terrorism has been the rallying cry of Bush's race for re-election in a presidential campaign fraught with verbal fisticuffs between him and Kerry.
Bush holds a commanding lead over Kerry among veterans and their families. An AP-Ipsos poll last week found Bush was the choice of 58 percent and Kerry 38 percent. In the poll, veterans and their families said Bush was stronger and more honest than Kerry.
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