Editing Michael A. Aquino (section)

== Career ==
Following his commissioning in the Army, Aquino served as a [[psychological warfare]] specialist and was deployed in the [[Vietnam War]].{{sfn|Introvigne|2016|p=317}}{{sfn|Gardell|2003|p=389}} He served with the [[United States Army Special Forces|Green Berets]] and in the 1970s and early 1980s he was a part-time [[NATO]] liaison officer in several European countries. While off-duty on one of these tours, he visited [[Wewelsburg]] Castle, which was used by the [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] and [[Heinrich Himmler]], and performed a Satanic ritual there.<ref name="San Francisco Chronicle-1987">{{cite news |last=Lempinen |first=Edward W. |last2=Popp |first2=Robert |date=1987-10-30 |title=New Twist In Presidio Molestings |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-francisco-chronicle-new-twist-in-pre/182687567/ |access-date=2025-10-10 |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/san-francisco-chronicle-officer-probed-i/182687613/ A4] |language=en-US |issue=246 |issn=1932-8672}}</ref><ref name="San Jose Mercury News-1987">{{cite news |date=1987-11-08 |title=Satanist accused of molesting girl; Soldier calls probe a witch hunt |newspaper=[[San Jose Mercury News]] |language=en-US |issn=0747-2099}}</ref>{{sfn|Gardell|2003|p=292, 322}} Aquino stated that his interest in Nazism was academic and denied that he was racist. The journalist Linda Goldston quoted him as saying: "I'm fascinated by the lessons to be learned from the Nazi experience but not blinded by their excesses", and "There was a small group of brutal and desperate men who governed a country through despotism and tyranny. They were quite brilliant in some respects, yet utterly savage in others."<ref name="San Jose Mercury News-1987" />{{sfn|Gardell|2003|p=322}} 

Upon receiving his doctorate in 1980, Aquino returned to his native [[San Francisco]], where he served for the next six years as an [[Active Guard Reserve]] officer at the [[Presidio of San Francisco]]. He also taught at [[Golden Gate University]] until 1986.{{sfn|Gardell|2003|p=389}} In 1981, Aquino was a reserve attaché at the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] (DIA), and a year later he was a student at the [[Foreign Service Institute]], sponsored by the [[United States Department of State]]. As an intelligence officer, he thus gained access to top-secret documents. He later worked as a program analyst at the US Army's Reserve Personnel Center in [[St. Louis, Missouri]], where he was responsible for [[human resources]] issues. Prior to entering his doctoral program, he briefly worked at [[Merrill (company)|Merrill Lynch]] and obtained a license to trade securities on the [[New York Stock Exchange]].<ref name="San Francisco Chronicle-1987" /><ref name="San Jose Mercury News-1987" /> In 1994, Aquino retired from active duty in the army, was honorably transferred to the reserves and awarded the [[Meritorious Service Medal (United States)|Meritorious Service Medal]].