COLONEL
THOMAS LOCKHART
George W. Bush's T-38 Instructor Pilot and Flight Safety Officer

REMEMBERING GEORGE W. BUSH . . .
I can give no higher endorsement of an individual than that I give to President Bush. I have known George W. Bush for 36 years, and he has proven to be a man of the highest character, integrity, and faith.

My first encounter with George W. Bush was in the fall of 1968 when he arrived at Moody Air Force Base as a
candidate for under graduate pilot training in the USAF. He was a member of the Texas Air National Guard, which was equipped with the F-102 fighter interceptor aircraft. Lt. Bush impressed me right away with his desire to learn all aspects of fighter employment. He was very competitive and because of his outgoing personality, he was a natural leader. Very early in the training, I noticed his classmates gravitating toward him, which resulted in him becoming the unofficial class leader.

George W. Bush's intelligence, conviction, and burning desire to succeed gave me the clear impression he would be successful in the difficult one-year USAF course and in all his future challenges.
A PERSONAL LETTER OF OBSERVATION OF GEORGE W. BUSH:
George W. Bush arrived at Moody AFB, Georgia, for undergraduate pilot training (UPT) in 1968 as a member of the Texas Air National Guard. I was assigned as one of his Instructor Pilots. The atmosphere at this training base was somber and dead serious, as the student pilots were all either going to Vietnam or subject to being called up for combat duty as members of a Guard or Reserve unit. <READ MORE>

LOCKHART IN THE NEWS:
Retired Air Force colonel was one of Bush’s flight instructors
By Joseph Bechard, Sedona Red Rock News - "For Village of Oak Creek resident Tom Lockhart, the 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign is personal. On May 11, former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, a Republican from Kansas, announced the National Veterans Leadership Team to the re-election campaign of President George W. Bush, a Republican."
<READ MORE> (SITE OPENS IN A NEW WINDOW)
BIOGRAPHY:
Tom Lockhart was born on October 25, 1939, in St. Albans, West Virginia. He graduated from St. Albans High School in 1957 and then from West Virginia University with a BS degree in finance in 1961. He was a distinguished ROTC graduate and was commissioned a 2nd Lt. in the United States Air Force. <READ MORE>