Aaron Alexis racked up at least eight misconduct charges in the Navy Reserve, but still got an honorable discharge — allowing him to retain the clearance that gave him access to the Washington Navy Yard.
Alexis’ violations during his three-year stint included insubordination and going AWOL, and he was arrested twice during that time.
“It really is hard to believe that someone with a record as checkered as this man could conceivably get . . . credentials to be able to get on the base,” Washington Mayor Vincent Gray told CNN Tuesday.
The Navy could have given him a “general discharge’’ — a level below honorable — that would have raised red flags to future employers.
Instead, he left on the best possible terms and had no trouble getting hired by a government subcontractor. He got an ID pass to the yard, where he strolled past guards with a shotgun and slaughtered 12 people Monday.
Experts ripped the Navy’s kid-glove treatment, given the severity of his violations.
“Insubordination is the worst infraction as far as I’m concerned . . . and for it not to have had serious repercussions is stunning,” said Stephen Sandy, executive director of an advocacy group called the Naval Enlisted Reserve Association, which has 10,000 members.
He suggested that Navy brass simply pushed the troublemaker along “the path of least resistance.”
A Navy official told The Post that that “the evidence did not support” anything less than an honorable discharge.
Alexis even got glowing reviews while a reservist. He was described at various times as an “eager trainee’’ with “unlimited potential,” according to documents obtained by Fox News.
But he also had a bad temper. In 2008, he was busted for tossing furniture in a Georgia nightclub.
By 2010, he was back in higher-ups’ good graces; he was called a “team player’’ and a “highly motivated technician.’’
He left a year later and was hired by Hewlett-Packard subcontractor The Experts.
This year, his mental problems grew worse. Still, he was allowed to continue with his security clearance and access to the Navy Yard.
The Experts said they last did a background check on Alexis in late June and it “revealed no issues other than one minor traffic violation.”