Kerry's Military records
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| Tue, 08-24-2004 - 7:15am |
It is clear that at least one of Kerry's Purple Heart awards was the result of his own negligence, not enemy fire, and that Kerry went to unusual lengths to obtain the award after being turned down by his own commanding officer.
John Kerry has long insisted that using the three-injury loophole to leave combat early was his own idea, but Kerry's fellow Swift officer Thomas Wright, who served on occasion as the OIC (Officer in Charge) of Kerry's boat group, contradicts that claim. Wright reports that he "had a lot of trouble getting Kerry to follow orders," and that those who worked with Kerry found him "oriented towards his personal, rather than unit goals and objectives." He therefore requested that Kerry be removed from his boat group. After John Kerry qualified for his third Purple Heart, Thomas Wright and two fellow officers informed him of the obscure regulation, and told him to go home. Wright concluded, "We knew how the system worked and we didn’t want him in Coastal Division 11."
Constructing a complete picture of Kerry's service is difficult due to gaps in the Naval records provided by the Kerry campaign. These gaps include missing and incomplete fitness reports, missing medical records and missing records related to his medal awards.
Senator Kerry can clear all of this up if he would authorize complete access to all his military records by filing a standard Form 180, a simple two-page release form.

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Yawn - move on from the war records and talk. It's been done ad nauseum. Bush always comes up short. Find a real issue to whine about - deficit, job loss, military death toll in Iraq, forgotten Afghanistan, "Mission Accomplished", "Turned a Corner", "Safer now", prescription drug cost, Haliburton, Enron, Gas Prices, Oil prices, etc... Oops! Guess Bush comes up short on the issues too.
This wouldn't be an issue if Kerry didn't make it the FOUNDATION of his campaign. Hey, if you think all those things you listed are failures of Bush, why hasn't Kerry embraced these problems and offered real solutions instead of mushy, sensitive double talk?
B/c they are NOT faliures and Kerry KNOWS he could not do a better job!
Again, I cannot fault the man for serving. My problem is if he is hyping up what he actually did there to make himself look better. If he has done that, then that shows me a lot about his character. I think he did stretch the truth about Cambodia as nobody has come forward to say that they can verify his stories, or can anyone produce any documents to back up the stories. Kerry himself has even changed the story completely now, which hurts his credibility on this issue.
I used to think that Kerry may have lied about the circumstances behind one or two of his purple hearts, but now I am at the point, that this matters very little. If he in fact designed to use the three purple heart out, then he shoudl be forthright about it and admit this. I doubt many people would think any less of him for it.
John Kerry and John Edwards will stand up for America's values and have a plan to build an America that is strong at home and respected in the world. They believe we can have a strong economy focused on good-paying jobs, a health care plan that reduces costs, an energy plan that frees us from Mideast oil, and they believe we can strengthen our military and lead strong alliances that keep America safe and secure.
Children & Families
Civil Rights
Economy
Education
Energy
Environment
Health Care
Homeland Security
National Security
National Service
Rural America
Science and Technology
Stronger Communities
Veterans
Women
http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/
http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/policy.html - Kerry-Edwards Policy Documents
http://www.johnkerry.com/pdf/our_plan_for_america.pdf - Our Plan for America
Stronger at Home, Respected in the World
Overview
Restore America's Respect in the World and Make us Independent of Mideast Oil
Today, we face four great challenges above all others - First, to win the global war against terror; Second, to stop the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons; Third, to promote democracy, freedom, and opportunity around the world, starting by winning the peace in Iraq; Fourth, end our dependence on Mideast oil. To meet these challenges, Kerry and Edwards will:
Launch and Lead A New Era Of Alliances.
The threat of terrorism demands alliances on a global scale - to utilize every available resource to get the terrorists before they can strike us. Kerry-Edwards will lead a coalition of the able - because no force on earth is more able than the United States and its Allies.
Modernize The World's Most Powerful Military To Meet New Threats.
Kerry-Edwards will ensure that our forces are fully prepared for the dangerous and vital missions they may face, and that America's military always remains second to none. We must extend our capabilities to better face new threats of terrorism, failed states and homeland defense.
Deploy All That Is In America's Arsenal.
The war on terror cannot be won by military might alone. Kerry - Edwards will deploy all the forces in America's arsenal - our diplomacy, our intelligence system, our economic power, and the appeal of our values and ideas - to make America more secure and prevent a new generation of terrorists from emerging.
Free America From Its Dangerous Dependence On Mideast Oil.
To secure our full independence and freedom, we must free America from its dangerous dependence on Mideast oil. By tapping American ingenuity, we can achieve that goal while growing our economy and protecting our environment. Kerry-Edwards will create a new energy and conservation trust fund to accelerate the development of innovative technologies, such as more efficient cars and trucks, the development of biofuels, and creating clean, secure, hydrogen-based energy. Kerry-Edwards will also expand the supply of natural gas, assure 20% of electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020, and make clean coal part of our energy solution.
Create New Jobs, Strengthen the Middle Class, and Ensure Educational Opportunity
Reward Companies that Create Jobs in America.
The Kerry-Edwards plan will end tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas and use the savings to reduce the corporate tax rate by 5 percent, cutting taxes for 99 percent of corporations. The Kerry-Edwards plan also includes a New Jobs Tax Credit for new hiring in manufacturing, other businesses affected by outsourcing, and small businesses.
Strengthen the Middle Class.
As incomes decline and costs rise, families are having a hard time paying their bills, let alone saving for tomorrow. Health care costs are up by nearly 50 percent, college tuition has increased by 35 percent, and gas prices have skyrocketed. A Kerry-Edwards administration will provide relief to middle class families by cutting taxes and investing in health care and education.
Invest in the Jobs of the Future.
To keep America competitive for the future, a Kerry-Edwards administration will invest in research and technology and provide tax credits to unleash innovation in broadband, energy and small business. They will also provide a tax credit on up to $4,000 for each of four years of college tuition. And they will work for responsible immigration laws that honor America's promise and strengthen America's economy and security.
Restore Fiscal Discipline to Washington.
Kerry and Edwards have a record of fiscal discipline that is absent in this administration, and they have promised to live within the budget principles that helped lead this nation to balance the budget. Their plan will cut the deficit in half in four years, increasing economic confidence and keep interest rates from rising.
Provide High-Quality Health Care, Improve Education, and Strengthen Families
Up to $1,000 of Health Care Premium Relief
The Kerry-Edwards plan will provide relief for employers who offer their employees quality health coverage by helping out with certain high cost health cases - saving families up to $1,000 per year.
A Health Plan for Every Child
The Kerry-Edwards plan will pick up the full cost of the more than 20 million children enrolled in Medicaid. In exchange, states will expand eligibility for children's health coverage and low-income adults and enroll every child automatically.
Manage Skyrocketing Health Care Costs
The Kerry-Edwards plan will improve health outcomes while reducing health care costs by cutting administrative costs, waste, fraud, and abuse; enhancing disease management efforts; and reforming malpractice insurance.
World Class Education
The Kerry-Edwards plan will support more resources and more reform in our schools. The plan will fully fund the No Child Left Behind Act so students have smaller classes and more textbooks. The plan will make reform work for our schools, supporting innovations in public schools like smaller schools, all-girls schools focused on math and science, and charter schools. And the plan will invest in afterschool programs so that 3.5 million children have a safe, quality place to go after school.
Every Classroom Has a Great Teacher
The Kerry-Edwards plan will raise teacher pay, especially in the schools and subjects where great teachers are in the shortest supply, and will improve teachers' professional development and training opportunities. At the same time, the plan will create rigorous new tests for new teachers; provide higher pay for teachers who have extra skills and excel in helping children learn; and ensure fast, fair procedures for improving or removing teachers who do not perform well on the job, while preserving protections from arbitrary dismissal.
Every Young Person Graduates
Today 3 in 10 young people do not finish high school, and half of Hispanics, African Americans, Native Americans don't graduate. Kerry-Edwards will keep better track of graduation rates to hold schools accountable for raising them; will offer more tutoring and mentoring to at-risk youth; will make big high schools smaller when they are not working for their students; and will strengthen the high school curriculum so all students can graduate with a meaningful diploma.
Purple Hearts were awarded for injuries during service, including accidental self injuries.
A few things that George W Bush will never have: 3 Purple Hearts, A Bronze Star and a Silver Star!
John Kerry's Official Naval Records
http://www.johnkerry.com/about/john_kerry/military_records.html
John Kerry's After-Action Combat Reports
The Command History for Coastal Division 11 for 1969
Military Service Awards
This file contains documents on the awarding of John Kerry's military service awards: 3 Purple Hearts, 1 Bronze Star, and 1 Silver Star.
Acceptance of Discharge Naval Reserve
Background Information
Bronze Star
Bronze Star Recommendation
Bupers Orders To Gridley
Change of Duty
DD214
DD215 (correction to DD214)
Duty Recommendation
Emergency Data
Enlistment Contract
Enlistment Photo
Fitness Reports
Honorable Discharge From Reserve
Leave Record
National Defense Service Medal
Naval Messages
Naval OCS Report
Nuclear Weapons Training Certificate
Office Order Memos
Officer Candidate Agreement
Order to Officer Candidate
Pay Entry Base Date
Personnel Casualty Report
Presidential Unit Citation
Purple Heart #1 Citation
Purple Heart #2 Citation
Purple Heart #3 Citation
Qualifications Questionnaire
Recommendations For Next
Record of Discharge
Release From Active Duty
Report of Home of Record
Request For History of Service
Request For Swiftboat Duty
Research Sheet F4-15
Reserve Office Appointment
Security Clearances
Service Record
Servicemans Life Insurance
Silver Star
Statement of Service 1967
Temporary Orders and Ranks
Thrice Wounded Reassignment
Top Secret Clearance
Training School Record
Transfer To Standby Reserve
Travel Payment Order
Vietnam Service Medal
By Dave Moniz and Jim Drinkard, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — At a time when Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has come under fire from a group of retired naval officers who say he lied about his combat record in Vietnam, questions about President Bush's 1968-73 stint in the Texas Air National Guard remain unresolved:
• Why did Bush, described by some of his fellow officers as a talented and enthusiastic pilot, stop flying fighter jets in the spring of 1972 and fail to take an annual physical exam required of all pilots?
• What explains the apparent gap in the president's Guard service in 1972-73, a period when commanders in Texas and Alabama say they never saw him report for duty and records show no pay to Bush when he was supposed to be on duty in Alabama?
• Did Bush receive preferential treatment in getting into the Guard and securing a coveted pilot slot despite poor qualifying scores and arrests, but no convictions, for stealing a Christmas wreath and rowdiness at a football game during his college years?
The White House has released hundreds of pages of records, but the files released so far haven't answered those questions. Since the documents were released in February, at least a half-dozen news organizations, including USA TODAY, have filed new requests for Bush's military records under the Freedom of Information Act.
In an e-mail to USA TODAY last week, presidential spokesman Dan Bartlett said: "The president has authorized the release of his records and we are complying with all requests. Some are taking longer than others, but all will be addressed."
Past military service and qualifications to be commander in chief have become a central theme in the 2004 presidential campaign.
Questions about Bush's record predate the current campaign. The apparent gap in his Guard service first surfaced before the 2000 election, when The Boston Globe reported that Texas Guard commanders were unable to account for Bush's whereabouts from May 1972 to April 1973.
Bush has not said what he did in the Guard during that period. Aside from a statement by a former Alabama Air Guard officer who said he saw Bush report for duty there in the fall of 1972, the only evidence he was at Dannelly Air National Guard Base in Alabama was a record of a dental exam on Jan. 6, 1973, at the base.
Bush said in a TV interview in February that he would make all his military records available. That month, the White House released more than 400 pages of Bush military records, including some duplicates, and said the documents were a complete catalog of his personnel files.
But some documents still have not been made public. The White House did not release Bush's medical records from his Guard files but allowed a group of reporters who cover the White House to review them for 20 minutes. They found nothing unusual. Kerry released some of his military records earlier this year. He has also declined to release his complete medical records but showed them to reporters as Bush did.
Since February, the White House has banned all Guard and military commanders outside the Pentagon from commenting on Bush's records or service. Requests for information must go to the Pentagon's Freedom of Information Act office.
The Pentagon last week responded to a 4-month-old request from USA TODAY for additional records from Bush's files by sending another copy of documents that were released by the White House in February. The documents do not address the unexplained year in Bush's Guard service or his decision to stop flying.
The Associated Press filed a lawsuit this summer requesting copies of Bush's military records stored in a Texas archive on microfilm. It sought information that might explain why Bush did not take his flight physical and whether he showed up for duty in Alabama in the fall of 1972, AP spokesman John Stokes said.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-08-23-bush-service_x.htm
I know he may not be able to do all but at least he is attempting to take the country in right direction...
I dont think it is hype when the President, with the full backing of Congress decides to try to take the fight on terrorism to the terrorist, and those that support terrorists. This is an issue that should have the fullest of support by both sides of the aisle.
I dont think that the economic recovery is being hyped as much as it is trying to be under-reported in the media, as if you analyze all of the economic statistics, they all show that the US is in a strong period of economic recovery and growth.
I dont hear Bush hyping the education bills, but I do question why the unions will not allow failing teachers to be held accountable. This is one obstacle in the problem with the NCLB bill, the other is actually putting the allocated money to where it will do the most good first, which is not the inner city schools, but the outlying schools where the money will show more benefits immediately as the inner city schools, the problems there are a lot greater than shortages of money. The NCLB act is a good idea in principle but getting the school systems to follow through with it correctly is also part of the problem.
Take NYC for example. The NYC public school system spends an average of $11,500 per child per year on school. Catholic schools in NYC spend an average of $4,500 per child per year on school. The NYC passing rate on the schoolastic tests is roughly 60% where the Catholic schools are closer to 95%. The issue isnt money with NYC, and I dont know what it is.
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