George W. Bush

=== Military career ===
{{Main|George W. Bush military service controversy}}
{{See also|Killian documents controversy|Killian documents authenticity issues}}
In May 1968, Bush was commissioned into the [[Texas Air National Guard]].<ref name="wpbushguardquestion">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7372-2004Feb2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414134915/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7372-2004Feb2.html |archive-date=April 14, 2016 |title=Bush's Guard Service In Question |access-date=September 1, 2008 |last=Romano |first=Lois |date=February 3, 2004 |newspaper=The Washington Post |pages=A08 }}</ref> After two years of training in active-duty service,<ref name="lardner19990728">{{cite news |last1=Lardner |first1=George Jr. |last2=Romano |first2=Lois |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/bush072899.htm |title=At Height of Vietnam, Bush Picks Guard |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 28, 1999 |access-date=March 1, 2002 |archive-date=September 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913034222/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/bush072899.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> he was assigned to Houston, flying [[Convair F-102]]s with the [[147th Reconnaissance Wing]] out of the [[Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base]].<ref name=wpbushguardquestion /><ref>{{cite news |first=Byron |last=York |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/york200408261025.asp |title=The Facts about Bush and the National Guard |work=National Review |date=August 26, 2004 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080830012958/http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/york200408261025.asp |archive-date=August 30, 2008 }}</ref> Critics, including former [[Democratic National Committee]] Chairman [[Terry McAuliffe]], have alleged that Bush was favorably treated due to his father's political standing as a member of [[United States House of Representatives|the House of Representatives]], citing his selection as a pilot despite his low pilot aptitude test scores and his irregular attendance.<ref name=wpbushguardquestion /> In June 2005, [[United States Department of Defense|the Department of Defense]] released all the records of Bush's Texas Air National Guard service, which remain in its official archives.<ref name="USDoDbushrecords">{{cite news |publisher=Department of Defense |url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/bush_records/index.html |title=Official DoD service records of Texas Air National Guard member George Walker Bush |date=June 17, 2005 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930154647/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/bush_records/index.html }}</ref>

In late 1972 and early 1973, he drilled with the [[187th Fighter Wing]] of the [[Alabama Air National Guard]]. He had moved to [[Montgomery, Alabama]], to work on the unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign of Republican [[Winton M. Blount]].<ref>{{cite news |date=October 26, 2002 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/26/us/winton-blount-81-a-founder-of-the-new-postal-service.html |title=Winton Blount, 81, a Founder Of the New Postal Service |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=February 12, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-date=May 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513191202/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/26/us/winton-blount-81-a-founder-of-the-new-postal-service.html }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Walker |first=Jessica M. |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-02-13-bush-alabama_x.htm |title=Bush seen in Alabama in 1972 |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |date=February 13, 2004 |access-date=February 12, 2010 |archive-date=March 20, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090320004732/http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-02-13-bush-alabama_x.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1972, Bush was suspended from flying for failure to take a scheduled physical exam.<ref>Rutenberg, Jim (May 17, 2004). {{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/17/movies/a-film-to-polarize-along-party-lines.html |title=A Film to Polarize Along Party Lines |newspaper=The New York Times |first=Jim |last=Rutenberg |date=May 17, 2004 |archive-date=January 30, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130130041444/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/17/movies/a-film-to-polarize-along-party-lines.html }}</ref> He was honorably discharged from the [[Air Force Reserve Command|Air Force Reserve]] on November 21, 1974.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Brit Hume |author2=Mara Liasson |author3=Jeff Birnbaum |author4=Charles Krauthammer |title=The All-Star Panel Discusses John Kerry's Shifting Positions on Iraq War Spending |work=Fox News Network (transcript) |date=July 9, 2004}}</ref>

Bush remains the most recent president to have served in the military.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/american-presidents-who-served-in-the-military-2016-6#george-w-bush-1 |title=29 American presidents who served in the military |access-date=November 27, 2020 |last=Cain |first=Áine |date=February 19, 2018 |work=[[Business Insider]] |archive-date=December 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205164450/https://www.businessinsider.com/american-presidents-who-served-in-the-military-2016-6#george-w-bush-1 |url-status=live }}</ref>