In Case Anyone Wondered . . .
Former President George W. Bush was – and, presumably, still is – rather liked by most serving in the military. Many hardcore liberals can’t seem to understand why.
This article might help partially explain the reason why. Then again, understanding the explanation might well be beyond many of them.
Well done, Sir. I’m proud to have served while you were CINC.
Category: Military issues
Even though IMHO GW Bush allowed a little too much PC into the Military during his time in Office, the ROE’s we had while deployed under him were FAR better than what we had under his successor!
For the record I also like his dad a great deal as well…with Bush I never doubted he was a patriotic American, I might not have agreed with all of his policies and I couldn’t stand Dick Cheney but I was never offended by either President Bush.
I wish I could say the same for 44 and 45…
I saw Prez Bush on last 27 SEP, in Atlanta at some energy convention, forgot the name exactly. I was in the Color guard and we were invited to stay afterwards.
He was incredibly funny and quick of mind, with the kind of self-depricating humor I admire and I strive to imitate. Nothing like the image of the barely educated cowboy the media tried to pin on him.
He took like 5 or 6 shots at Obama and 2 at the Trumpminator. I don’t think he gets why we admire Trump, for his balls to fight back against the media behemoth, but Prez Bush is definitively a patriot and a good man.
He mentioned briefly his work for veterans with PTS, which he refuse to call PTSD because he says it is not a disorder.
Great guy. I disagreed with him on economic policy, but I supported his foreign policy on Iraq and Afghanistan.
Honored to serve while he was CINC.
G.W. Bush has definitely learned the Texas mode of humor. Gotta love it. Especially since the liberals don’t get it. Makes the jokes funnier.
“He was incredibly funny and quick of mind, with the kind of self-depricating humor I admire and I strive to imitate. Nothing like the image of the barely educated cowboy the media tried to pin on him.”
I’ve heard this from so many people over the years who have met him and briefed him. Its unfortunate that he was stuck with the image and in many cases reinforced it in public.
My Dad met him at Gillespie Field when he came out to San Diego during the 2003 fire siege. Didn’t make it myself, as I was still on the fireline, but Dad was quite impressed. President Bush was very genuine, didn’t just elbow his way through, and made time for everybody. And when the cameras weren’t on him, nothing changed. I think he made his share of mistakes in office, but I have no doubt that he did what he did, right or wrong, believing that it was what was best for our nation.
By contrast, the people I know who have met Obama were all disappointed. If there were cameras rolling, he put on a gladhanding veneer that still came off as considering them beneath himself. Once the cameras were off, he was a straight-up asshole.
Sounds like a big fat dose of the guilts.
That comment makes little if any sense in this context. Care to explain what you mean and to whom you’re talking?
I’m guessing it was in reference to GWB helping wounded veterans because of a sense of guilt for their situation. More correctly, there is a sense that a Commander-in-Chief is responsible for those under his command. Any moral and sane person would feel that after being in command.
Correct about any decent commander caring about his troops.
Perhaps that’s what he meant. However, there are other possible explanations also. I’d like to know what he meant, and only he can definitively tell us that.
Looks like the staff took his keyboard away from him. Again.
Outstanding, thanks for posting that. People need to talk more about Post Traumatic Growth.
Not to take away from the article’s message, but I’ve been seeing this statistic pop up quite a bit, lately: “more than 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan vets suffer from PTSD.”
I don’t know what percentage of GWOT vets actually saw “combat” (the definition of which is a bit of a moving target, now, I guess) – but 20% seems unbelievably high, especially as not every combat vet suffers from PTSD, and past wars tend to have produced around 10% of their vets with combat experience.
I know PTSD can be lucrative, now, but I hope there aren’t THAT many milking the system and taking resources away from those who truly need them. Am I missing something? I know PTSD can develop from other traumas beyond combat, but I doubt that’s the difference-maker.
Sadly, there are that many milking it. So long as there is money to be had…it will remain epidemic.
Nobody gets a check for Post Traumatic Growth…but if they did, 20% would be suffering from that.
Having answered the desperate phone calls from friend who had just removed the shotgun from their mouth or decided to induce vomiting, I am sickened that there are so many poseurs actually within our ranks. That there are so many poseurs within the ranks makes me ashamed every time someone says we’re all heroes… we have our share of cowards and monsters.
Never questioned where America stood with either Bush.
I did not/do not agree with all of their policy decisions, but then the Mrs. and I don’t agree on all of our policy decisions, either.
But the men are patriots, are loyal to America and her military, and made the best decisions they knew to make. God bless them both.
I think it might have helped a lot if the media had not somehow gotten their claws into the PTSD stuff, a label which they now slap on everyone if they can.
I did not know about this program, but it is certainly a good idea. At the very least, there is no grandstanding about it. It is just available for those who need it.
Good job.
I started liking W when he first became governor of the Republic of Texas. I voted for him in 2000 because I knew he loved the USA, and would handle foreign policy better than his predecessor. The second amendment issues were the top of my reasoning. Funny war story: On my last deployment under O’s administration, a terrorist detainee (one of my patrons) told me he liked O and did not like W. I remember saying something like,”of course, you are a fucking terrorist”. I said it without thinking about it, and then told him,”I did not really give a shit, and get in your cell”
I’m pleasantly surprised that you weren’t reprimanded and forced into “sensitivity training.”
This particular individual was part of a group that did not want to make waves, and the one “enforcer” type on his block thought highly of me. We did have characters that were always crying about how my troops were not treating them right, and some two star Air Force general would come to visit them. After his visit, they would come out wearing new sunglasses, and we would get a memo about treating terrorist detaines with “dignity and respect”.
Love GWB or not, he was a better choice than the alternatives. Like Trump.
You can read that two ways. And I agree with both of them.
Thank you for the article Hondo.
To those who were there, no explanation is necessary. To those who weren’t there, no explanation is enough.
I served during President Reagan. What do I know..
They were upset because Obama and Republican congress did sequestration. Then Vets who were 18 years in got booted out before 20.
My God, I miss George W. Bush. A truly decent man, who exemplifies the ideal of service over self. I didn’t agree with everything he did or every position he took, but I was proud to serve under him.
You mean when he dodged going to Vietnam? According to TAH dogma that’s “running away from the enemy”. Bush was a real tough guy with terrorist when he said “bring it on”. But Bush isn’t Bilzerian so TAH posters can have a double standard for him. Bilzerian can’t be a tough guy because he didn’t deploy or become a SEAL. But Bush can be a tough guy because he didn’t deploy and was air national guard. See the double standard? Let’s see if I can get a more intelligent response on TAH than “You’re stupid” or some other ad hominem. Bring it on punks. ¿•♧
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Lars confirmed.
Damn… Lars posting in drag.
Lars alert! Lars alert!
Oh no it looks like I’m being stalked by Bergdhals! ٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶
O=(‘-‘Q)
Says the ditz who hasn’t the first clue what a cast-iron bitch flying an F-102 was.
Can you fly a fighter jet?
Although I didn’t always agree with his policies, there is no doubt that, like his father, President Bush is a decent, compassionate man who genuinely cares about the women and men he ordered into harm’s way to protect civilians like me and my children.
Is he motivated by guilt? I have no idea, and I really don’t care. I prefer to judge a person by their actions, rather than speculating about their intentions. He’s doing good work; let’s leave it at that.
“…understanding the explanation might well be beyond many of them” (i.e., hardcore liberals)
.
They will never understand. Nothing in their experience remotely compares to the experiences we have had, the lives we’ve lived, the things we’ve done, the reasons why. They have poorer lives for this lack of common background. Too bad for them. They made their beds and must sleep there, never to understand the true meaning.
How nice – throw the entire world into chaos, cause the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, then put on a nice little mountain bike ride and all’s forgiven. You guys are so easy.
Hating the president for doing his job is like hating the wind because it blows on you.
It is when the president does not do the job you should be pissed…but alas…it’s always ass backwards in the mind of a tool.
Or in the mind of a fool. Joey qualifies on both counts.
OH, but joey, it was okay for Hitler and Stalin and Pol Pot and Mao Tse-Tung to do that, right? Because that’s what you’re saying – it’s not okay for Bush, Jr. to do it, but it’s okay for those slaughtering thugs to run slaughterhouses.
Oh! Silly me! I left out the nastiest bastards of all – Saddam Hussein and his two slimy song Ooday and Qusay. Oh, and there’s the whole ruling family in North Korea, the Kims, and who knows how many lives they’ve destroyed since 1952, eh? But it doesn’t matter, because they’re communists just like you, you slimy rat.
You’re not making any sense (as usual).