Controversy over George W. Bush's military service in the Air National Guard was an issue that first gained widespread public attention during the 2004 presidential campaign.

George W. Bush joined the 147th Fighter-Interceptor Group of the Texas Air National Guard on May 27, 1968, during the Vietnam War.

[1] In his 1968 Statement of Intent (undated), he wrote, "I have applied for pilot training to make flying a lifetime pursuit, and I believe I can best accomplish this to my satisfaction by serving as a member of the Air National Guard as long as possible."

[2] In his autobiography Bush states that he was willing to serve his country but preferred to do so as a combat pilot rather than "An infantryman wading across a paddy-field".

[1][8] Bush's four-year part-time obligation to serve required him to maintain his immediate readiness to be recalled to active duty in the event of a national emergency.

Bush performed part-time Guard duty as an F-102 pilot through April 1972, logging a total of 336 flight hours.

After April 1972, Bush may have failed to meet the attendance requirements established for members of the Air National Guard.

Bush returned to his home unit in Houston and was paid for his service in April 1973 through July 1973; again, what duties he performed are not documented in any way.

During the 1968–1974 period, Presidents Johnson and Nixon decided against calling up National Guard units for service in Vietnam.

Retired Major General Paul A. Weaver, a former head of the Air National Guard, said Bush could have just been practicing landing skills.

[18] The final two entries of Bush's official flight logs show him being assigned to work as an instructional pilot in late May 1972 at a Texas Air National Guard base.

The entries were entered even though he had left for Alabama in mid-May (see below) and his pay records show nonpayment for any work on the two dates of the instructional pilot assignment.

[22][23][24] Air National Guard regulations require that "the local commander who has authority to convene a Flying Evaluation Board will direct an investigation as to why the individual failed to accomplish the medical examination."

On May 24, 1972, Bush submitted a form requesting a transfer to the 9921st Air Reserve Squadron in Montgomery, Alabama, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Reese R. Bricken.

[34] However, the payment and retirement records the White House handed out three days prior to Calhoun's claims show that Bush received no pay or attendance credits during that May to October period.

Opinions of him during his time working on the campaign ranged from good (amiable, well-liked, and fond of sports) to bad (bragging about drinking and allegations he trashed a cottage where he was living).

Back in Houston, in late 1972 or early 1973, Bush did unpaid volunteer work for a number of months with an inner-city poverty program, Project P.U.L.L.

[45] On July 30, 1973, his last day of paid service in the Texas Air National Guard, Bush signed a statement that "I have been counseled this date regarding my plans to leave my present Reserve of [sic] assignment due to moving from this area.

"[44] On September 5, 1973, Bush requested discharge from Texas Air National Guard service, to be effective on October 1.

On June 22, 2004, The Associated Press sued the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force, seeking access to all of Bush's records during his military service.

The records lost included those covering July through September 1972, when Bush's claims of service in Alabama were in question, and the Pentagon reported that no paper backups were found.

[51] On September 24, 2004, under court order resulting from an earlier FOIA lawsuit filed by the Associated Press, the Pentagon released more documents.

CBS aired the story on September 8, 2004, amid more releases of Bush's official records by the Department of Defense, including one just the day before as the result of a FOIA lawsuit by the Associated Press.

[59][60][61][62][63] The forgery allegations subsequently came to the attention of the mainstream media, especially after experts also questioned the documents' authenticity and lack of a chain of custody.

The man who delivered the copies, Lt. Col. Bill Burkett, a former officer in the Texas Army National Guard and outspoken Bush critic, claimed that he burned the originals.

Burkett admitted lying to CBS and USA Today about where he had obtained the papers and eventually expressed doubts of his own about their authenticity.

[70] CBS then formed an independent panel headed by former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and retired Associated Press president Louis D. Boccardi to investigate the story and the handling of the Killian memos.

[71] The final report of the panel, while not addressing the authenticity of the documents, faulted many of the decisions made in developing the story, and producer Mary Mapes along with three others were forced to resign from CBS News.

[75] In September 2007, Rather sued CBS and its former parent company, Viacom, for US$70 million, claiming that he had been made a "scapegoat" over the memos story.

[76] His legal fight with CBS ended in January 2010 when the New York State Supreme Court declined to hear his motion to reinstate his lawsuit.