Bush Proud of His Record in Guard

President Bush, whose military record has been a recent focus of the presidential campaign, told a National Guard conference Tuesday that he was proud of his time in the Texas Air National Guard and assailed Democratic challenger John F. Kerry for what he said were shifting stances on the Iraq war.

Bush received a warm welcome from the National Guard Assn. of the United States. The crowd interrupted him frequently with applause, standing to cheer when Bush criticized Kerry and when the president talked about his own service.

In interviews, several of the hundreds of delegates at the conference said they had little interest in the flap over Bush’s military record in the early 1970s. Democrats have accused Bush of skirting his National Guard service requirements and of using family connections to win a coveted spot in the Guard to avoid service in Vietnam.

The controversy has become entangled in a dispute over the authenticity of documents released by CBS’ “60 Minutes,” which suggest there were attempts to give Bush preferential treatment while in the Guard.

In Las Vegas, Bush said: “Nineteen individuals have served both in the Guard and as president of the United States, and I am proud to be one of them.”

The president blasted Kerry for saying last week that money that has been spent on Iraq could have been better spent on domestic programs. He said the comment was at odds with a past comment by Kerry in which the senator said the United States should spend whatever it takes to win in Iraq.

“It is critical that the president of the United States speak clearly and consistently at this time of great threat in our world, and not change positions because of expediency or pressure,” Bush said.

Kerry responded Tuesday with a statement accusing Bush of offering “distortions” in suggesting the war in Iraq is going well. “George W. Bush keeps saying that things are getting better even when we all know that’s just not true,” Kerry said.

“I’ll be straight with you: Things are getting worse,” Kerry’s statement said. “More than a thousand Americans have been killed. Instability is rising.... And the Pentagon has even admitted that entire regions of Iraq are now controlled by insurgents and terrorists. The situation is serious, and we need a president who will set a new direction and be straight with the American people.”

Bush’s appearance at the convention was significant not just for the ongoing controversy over his service, but as a demonstration that he continues to enjoy support among Guard soldiers and their families despite the changing nature of the force under his administration.

Once a largely part-time commitment to domestic duties -- such as disaster relief -- by people with other careers, about 185,000 Guard troops have been deployed overseas since the 2001 terrorist attacks.

In his remarks, Bush acknowledged that longer-than-expected deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan had taken a toll on the troops and their relatives. But he said his administration was committed to increasing benefits and improving life for “citizen soldiers.”

“I know this time of call-ups and alerts and mobilizations and deployments has been difficult for Guard members and their families and employers,” he said. Bush said he wanted to give soldiers 30 days’ notice of a deployment to give them time to prepare. “We’re working to minimize the number of extensions and repeat mobilizations.”

Outside the Las Vegas Convention Center, protesters from the Boston-based Military Families Speak Out nonprofit group criticized Bush policies in Iraq, saying guardsmen have borne the brunt of poor planning by the administration.

Their voices cracking with emotion at times, members of the group told of communities that have held fundraisers to buy equipment for local guardsmen before their overseas deployment. That equipment -- walkie-talkies, body armor, global positioning system units -- is often unavailable to guardsmen in Iraq, they said. They told of families who were suffering financially because they were not prepared for, or warned about, tours of duty that can now last 18 months or more.

Dante Zappala, 28, a teacher from Venice, Calif., said that his brother, Sherwood Baker, had joined the Guard after seeing members sandbag a river in preparation for a flood seven years ago, a typical duty at the time for guardsmen.

Baker, 30, of Philadelphia, was killed April 26 near Baghdad when insurgents attacked his Humvee. At Baker’s funeral, his brother said, one speaker told mourners that the sergeant had died avenging the lives lost in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and making the world a safer place. The sentiment was well- intended but tragically wrong, Zappala said, because in his view the 2001 attacks had nothing to do with Iraq and the world is more volatile today because of Bush’s decisions.

Lt. Col. Chuck Foster of Anchorage, a full-time member of the Alaska Air National Guard, said most convention attendees wanted to hear about pressing issues, such as Bush’s plan for Iraq and his economic policies.

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Times staff writer Matea Gold in New York contributed to this report.