President Bush told National Guard members at their convention in Las Vegas Tuesday, he was proud of his time in the Texas Air National Guard.
The president said Nineteen individuals have served both in the National Guard and as president of the United States, "and" he said, "I'm proud to be one of them."
More than 200 protestors gathered outside the speech site.
The National Guard and Reserve comprise about 40 percent of the U.S. force in Iraq.
