(This section inapplicable to certification of active service for section 329. See Oi 328.1.) A request on form N-426 for verification of a period of ready reserve service in the Army or Air National Guard shall be addressed to the Office of the Adjutant General of the specific State National Guard involved. Since a State National Guard Adjutant General has no authority to certify that a State National Guard was Federally recognized as a reserve component of the ARmed Forces of the United States during a period of verified service, the State National Guard Adjutant General involved shall be requested, by cover letter, to certify the period or periods of honorable reserve service on the form and then forward it directly to the Chief, National Guard Bureau, Department of the Army and the Air Force, Washington, D.C. 20310, so that the further required certification can be made. The cover letter should request that the form be returned directly to the originating Service field office by the National Guard Bu reau.

The above instructions apply only to verification of periods of active or reserve service for petitioners under section 328. Verification of active duty periods of National Guardsmen for section 329 purposes (such as initial active duty for training or a Federal mobilization call to active duty) need not be forwarded to the National Guard Bureau for endorsement. Such active duty periods are, by their nature, Federally-recognized service, and may be certified by the State Adjutant General alone. The N-426 will then be returned directly to the originating office.