Editing Michael A. Aquino (section)

== Early life and education ==
Michael A. Aquino Jr.<ref name="Sant680616">{{Cite news |date=1968-06-16 |title=10 Area Men Get Army Commissions |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/santa-barbara-news-press-10-area-men-get/182742956/ |access-date=2025-10-11 |newspaper=[[Santa Barbara News-Press]] |page=A-12 |language=en-US |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |issue=28}}</ref> was born on October 16, 1946.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Flowers |first=Stephen E. |author-link=Stephen Flowers |title=Lords of the Left-Hand Path: Forbidden Practices and Spiritual Heresies |date=2012-06-15 |publisher=[[Inner Traditions]] |isbn=978-1-59477-692-2 |location=Rochester |language=en}}</ref> His parents were Michael A. Aquino Sr. and Betty Ford.<ref name="Sant680616" /> He was an [[Eagle Scout]] graduate of [[Santa Barbara High School]] (later serving as a national commander of the Eagle Scout Honor Society)<ref name=":1" /> in 1964 before enrolling at the nearby [[University of California, Santa Barbara]],{{sfn|Introvigne|2016|p=311}} where he received a [[Bachelor's degree|bachelor's]] degree in [[political science]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Melton |first=J. Gordon |author-link=J. Gordon Melton |title=Aquino, Michael A. (1946-) |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/aquino-michael-1946 |access-date=2025-09-15 |website=Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology |via=Encyclopedia.com}}</ref> as an [[ROTC]] [[United States Army]] Distinguished Military Graduate (conferring a then-elite [[Regular Army (United States)|Regular Army]] commission) in 1968. He returned to the institution after transitioning to [[United States Army Reserve]] service, earning an [[M.A.]] in political science in 1976 and a [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]]<ref name=":1" />{{sfn|Dyrendal|2012|p=379}}