Updated at 6:19 p.m., Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Bush boards Air Force One, departs

Advertiser Staff

President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush wave to a cheering crowd just before boarding Air Force One for their flight back to Washington, D.C. Bruce Asato | The Honolulu Advertiser

President George W. Bush, along with First Lady Laura Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left U.S. Pacific Command headquarters at Camp Smith at about 9:30 a.m. today and boarded Air Force One at 9:52 a.m. and departed from Hickam Air Force Base.

Adm. William Fallon, commander of U.S. military forces in the Pacific, and his wife, Mary, saw them off. Several hundred troops assembled in the departure area. The president and the first lady shook hands with some personnel and wished them a happy Thanksgiving.