There doesn't have to be a draft in force for one to avoid serving in the military. He did NOT serve in the military, thus he AVOIDED serving in the military. This is not difficult to understand.

I'm not the one slinging mud

Better than joining the ANG and not following orders, if not being outright AWOL during wartime.

First of all, let me be clear that I am not a GW fan.

You have obviously fallen for some of the misinformation with beginnings that go way back to it's beginnings with a false letter put forth by Dan Rather. Go find out the facts about GW's service before spreading propaganda about his military service.

At LEAST he met his military obligation and SERVED. More than you can say about B.O. He was too buisy puffing on his cigarette (or whatever it was) at that point in his life to serve honorably in the military.

Are you saying that there's an "obligation" to join the military even when no draft is in force? In that case, couldn't you say the same thing about other public servants -- that someone who chooses the military instead of joining the police, fire department, or teaching is also shirking their duty? Why is the military so sacred?

Larry - please clarify. Do you think that every single able bodied young man and woman should serve in the military? I am confused in your latest posts. I understand your views on draft dodging, but a draft is an entirely different situation IMO

Service in the military is no indication of whether a president will be worth a bucket of warm spit or not. Some of our best generals have made really poor presidents.

Grant comes to mind. Truly great general, truly terrible president.

No, I do NOT think that everyone should serve. I DO, however, believe that someone serving as the Commander in Chief should INDEED have military experience!

In B.O.'s case, he had zero military experience AND zero executive experience before stepping into the Whitehouse. This is actually not any bad reflection on him. It is a bad reflection on the electorate for giving an inexperienced person the job.

Let me say here that I don't think the B.O. is a particularly bad guy on a personal level. It's just that he is inexperienced with socialistic views that I happen to disagree with.

Dubya joined the ANG to avoid serving in Viet Nam. He said so himself.
If there was any courage involved it was the courage to ask his daddy to get him into the ANG when all units were full up. But his daddy came through-again.

I totally agree and U.S. Grant is an interesting choice to come up in the middle of this thread. B.O. is the worst President since U.S. Grant.

I do believe that to be experienced in all the areas in which a President needs to be involved in, military service is a necessary part of the experience set.

Yes, he did indeed join the National Guard as did many of that era. I'm of that era so I know very well that most EVERYONE wanted to take care of their military obligation in the National Guard, but very few had the opportunity. I expect that his Daddy did in fact have something to do with GW having the opportunity.

Ironically, he ended up flying the F102 which was a death trap. He was lucky to survive so many hours in that plane. It took a toll on him as it did most everyone who flew it. Statistically, he might have been safer in Viet Nam.

I would have GLADLY taken advantage of the opportunity to take care of my military obligation by joining "The Guard."

The fact remains though, serving in the National Guard honorably satisfied the military service requirement of the era. It also gave him military experience that our current President lacks.

The above is not any sort of endorsement for GW. I'm not a fan. It's only pointing out the facts.

Shame that our forefathers didn't have the foresight to include that requirement in the Constitution. Why didn't they? Perhaps, collectively, they lacked your wisdom.

Was the National Guard a haven for cowards, Larry?

GW's NG service turned out to be a case of "be careful what you ask for because you might get it." I expect that he did not realize that he was going to end up flying one of the worst death trap airplanes ever purchased by the U.S. Military.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was a point where he was saying to himself "what was I thinking?"

It was a desirable way to satisfy the military obligation of the time without leaving your life and your world for a minimum of two years.

Would YOU rather have had a few months away from home then doing a weekend a month and a few weeks a year as opposed to two years or more of complete interruption in your life?

In spite of lots of jokes about NG and ER while in the military, these guys were anything BUT cowards. The cowards went to Canada.