New research confirmed by RAW STORY and verified with federal law and military regulations, indicates that in late 1973 or early 1974, the United States Air Force, which supervises and whose jurisdiction supercedes the Air National Guard, attempted to discharge then-Lieutenant George W. Bush.
Effective September 15, 1973, four years into Bush's six-year duty requirement, the Air Force placed Bush on inactive status. This document, in Bush's military record, was dated January 30, 1974, suggesting that it was retroactive.
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As he was signed up to fulfill a military service requirement, the only reason under regulations the military would have placed him on inactive status was if they intended "complete severance of military status." You can see the full policy in PDF here.
But Lawrence Korb, an Assistant Secretary of Defense under Ronald Reagan, says that even those with a military service obligation were sometimes put on inactive status at their own request, even though it went against regulations.
He did not cite anyone for whom this was the case, however, with a military service obligation.
Yet Bush would have had to have been asked to be placed on inactive status in advance. Bush was not placed on inactive status until January 30, 1974, nearly four months after he had started classes at Harvard.
Under regulations, in order for him to be placed on inactive status, then, the military would have planned to discharge him -- and not for completing his service obligation. This wouldn't necessarily mean that he would have gotten a dishonorable discharge, but rather that he couldn't have been being discharged for completing his service.
Like with many regulations in the military, there are, of course, exceptions. Lieutenant Bush could have told the Air Force he intended to become a clergyman. He could have informed them he was disabled, or he could have been dead. He could also have been court-martialed.
But aside from those options -- none of which he fit -- the only reason Bush would have been placed on inactive status was if the military had found him to be absent for three months -- precisely the number of months Bush had been AWOL from in fiscal year 1973.
Thus, the military knew Bush had been absent without leave, and attempted to discharge him.
The National Guard, which said they would only take questions by e-mail, responded Wednesday to a question Monday about inactive status, but misunderstood the question. They have been asked again, but have said they are unable to answer the question over the phone.
Some confuse the Individual Ready Reserve, or the "Inactive Ready Reserve" colloquially, with inactive status because in general these people are not on active duty, and don't perform any training. If you are in any part of the "Ready Reserve," however, you are "active status."
Others note, correctly, that he began Harvard Business School in the fall of 1973. But he wouldn't have been placed on inactive duty for this -- he'd simply have been transferred into another unit to complete the rest of his required service.
He had 60 days from the date he received his Texas Guard discharge, postmarked October 16, 1973 to find another unit. At the end of this period the wheels would have started turning at the Air Force. A more complete explanation is available here.
Forensic research suggests that Bush would then have been placed in priority induction through the selective service system. While the formal draft was no longer in effect, this was the penalty for those who had recieved a draft deferment, and although people were no longer being "drafted" in 1974, men continued to be required to register with their draft board on their 18th birthday until 1975.
Already registered with his draft board, Bush would have then been inducted.
In January 1974, Bush's father, George Herbert Walker Bush, was named Chairman of the Republican National Committee. It is possible that the Houston draft board -- the district that Bush's father had represented in Congress just a few years before -- would have been surprised to see Bush's name in the pool and notified appropriate officials in the Air Force.
Three months after being placed on inactive status, Bush acquired a new post -- executive officer -- for which he was not qualified. He served no further duty.
