Report: Joe Biden's son Hunter discharged from Navy Reserve after failing drug test

Report: Joe Biden&#039;s son Hunter discharged from Navy Reserve after failing drug test

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last updated 8 January 2015

Hunter Biden, the 44-year-old son of Vice President Joe Biden, was reportedly discharged from the Navy Reserve earlier this year after testing positive for cocaine.

Mr. [Hunter] Biden was commissioned as an ensign on May 7, 2013, and assigned to Navy Public Affairs Support Element East in Norfolk, Va., a reserve unit, according to the Navy. In June 2013, after reporting to his unit in Norfolk, he was given a drug test, which turned up positive for cocaine, according to people familiar with the situation. Mr. Biden was discharged in February, the Navy said.Mr. Biden said in a statement that it was "the honor of my life to serve in the U.S. Navy, and I deeply regret and am embarrassed that my actions led to my administrative discharge. I respect the Navy's decision. With the love and support of my family, I'm moving forward." [The Wall Street Journal]

Hunter Biden joined the Navy Reserve at age 42, as part of a direct-commission program that enables "the Navy to tap civilians with needed skills," The Journal says. He also received two waivers, the paper says: one for his age, and another "because of a drug-related incident when he was a young man, according to people familiar with the matter. Military officials say such drug waivers aren't uncommon."