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Official confirms Bush should have been on active duty after failing to train at Harvard
by Open-Publishing - Monday 9 August 2004By John Byrne
In yet another stunning indictment of President George W. Bush’s failure to complete his required military service, a senior Reagan defense official confirmed that Bush should have been placed on active duty when he failed to find a Guard unit to serve with after tranferring to Massachusetts to attend Harvard Business school.
When asked if Bush should have been put on active duty when he failed to find another unit to train with, Korb said, "Yes."
The Air Force has declined to comment after being reached several times during the last three days.
Bush began classes at Harvard in September 1973, and tranferred out of the Texas Air National Guard in October. After receiving his discharge papers, which were postmarked October 16, he was assigned to the Air Reserve Personnel Center (the default non-location based assignment center).
He then had 60 days to find a new unit. He didn’t.
Under regulations, he was then absent without leave for a second time, the first being for five months in 1972.
He would remain so until he was put in an executive officer support position on March 7, 1974. He is then listed as being on active status, although there are no orders or documents to account for why he had changed positions and had been reactivated.
Nor was he qualified for this position, which under Air Force Regulations, mandates a full year of training. Moreover, he did not serve in any executive position while training as a pilot.