Kerry's Reserve Service Obligation

Vanity

[pfflier]

Much has been investigated about President Bush's reserve record but what about John Kerry's?

Kerry was commissioned as an officer in the US Navy following graduation from college. As a reserve officer he incurred a six year committment when he was commissioned.

This was a typical path for ROTC and OTS officers. Sometime later, in their carreer, the promising ones would be offered a regular commission.

Kerry served four months in Vietnam, requested a received a return to stateside duty then requested and early release from the Navy. If he did not serve the total six years, then he would have to transfer to reserve status. By all customs and procedures he should have been transferred to active reserve status, not just "released" from his committment.

If he was transferred to an active unit then he should have had to attend meetings and summer camps. Are there records of this?

If he was transferred to the inactive reserve with so little time on active duty, then he received preferential treatment, certainly at the peak of the Vietnam war when our combat operations were intense.

We need answers to this question just as much as Kerry's camp requested the Presidents records.

[pfflier]

John Kerry owes the American public answere to his military reserve service, just as he demanded of the President.

[maro]

Excellent. This might be the wedge to open up his entire military record. What's he hiding?

[pfflier]

I hope that this is a new perspective that can show what a weasel Kerry is.

[expatpat]

BTTT

[Elvis van Foster]

His unit must have had liberal haircut policy.

[Elvis van Foster]

I'll bet that he applied for CO status after getting out early.

[pfflier]

Even if this were true, he would still have been in the reserves and would still be obligated until his discharge.

[Lokibob]

Boot camp, Officer Candidate School, and advanced training would consume a year as a minimum. I think I read where he served 2 years on a carrier before being transferred to swift boats. 6 + months in RVN and another year as a aide is the better part of a service commitment.

Add to all the above, an officer in the anti war movement, which the navy hated, possibly a security risk for antiwar activities, and an person who wanted to run for congress. Lots of reasons for the Navy to discharge him early.

[smoothsailing]

I was drafted in April of '66 (a two year commitment)

My test scores were good in basic and AIT.I was offered and accepted OCS in the same year(I was 19 years old).I went to Viet Nam as a 2nd Lieutenent May of '68.I came back July of 69(14 months in-country).

I was assigned to Active Reserve near my home town.One weekend a month and two weeks summer camp plus some voluntary seminars at the Army War College.

In June of '73 I made Captain and decided to request inactive status.

Mine is nothing more than a simple tale of honoring an obligation.Nothing heroic, just fullfilling a duty.

Kerry is using military service in a way that is repulsive to me.

He is not worthy.

[stylin19a]

I got drafted. 23 months active duty. It was still a six year commitment.I was put on inactive ready reserves when I got out of the service. No meetings, no nothing.
Perhaps the same happened to Sen. Kerry.
Course, I was an E-3, not an officer.

[smoothsailing]

I remember when I was drafted the Sarge stood us in lines of five.Then counted us off so we'd know our number. I was a 4.

Sarge said "If you're not a 2 step forward and welcome to the United States Army". Then he said " Stay where you are 2, you're a Marine."

[Keith in Iowa]

This has been discussed previously: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1092491/posts

[stylin19a]

Too funny !. There were about 200 of us at the induction center. 8 record books had a blue 8x11 paper stapled to the front of it. (Those were the Marine draftees, though we didn't know it yet.).

Those with the blue were ordered into this little room. A Marine 2nd Lt.(this is when we found out) enters and starts advising us about the oath. 1 guy falls out and says something to the effect of "Forget this, I'm enlisting in the Army", and leaves.

A friend of mine from the neighborhood, also being inducted, sticks his head in the room and asks.."Hey Donn, what are you doing in here ?"

The Marine 2nd Lt. goes into a Drill Instructor voice and yells to my friend to get his a$$ in here and stand next to me.
He does and ends up getting drafted with me. Gotta make that quota.

Semper Fi

[ThomasPaine2000]

I enlisted in the Air Force in '62. I saw the same thing happen at Whitehall Induction Center in NYC. The look of shock was amazing.

[ladyinred]

Where the heck has the media gone?

[Mo1]

I think Kerry joined in 65/66 and served till 71

He did ask to be released early and was granted this

[Hon]

This subject has been addressed repeatedly by me and others here. You do not have the basic facts right.

Kerry served two tours of duty. He went back into the reserves in 1972.

This is all easily discoverable via Google. (You can start with the Boston Globe's excellent series, "A Candidate In The Making" which includes a timeline:

http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/

There are valid questions to be raised, such as how unusual is getting an out for two years? Doesn't the obligation require consecutive service?

But you should do a basic search before you ask questions that have been asked and answered here numerous times before.

[El Gato]

Course, I was an E-3, not an officer.

It's still a six year commitment, E-3 or O-2, doesn't matter. The active duty commitment varies between services and between then and now. In those days a draftee only had 2 year active duty commitment, IIRC, an Enlistee either 3 or 4 years depending on service and specialty. Officer's commitment also varied between services and depended on specialty as well. Pilots had 5 year commitment after completion of pilot training, IIRC. It's longer now.

[smoothsailing]

Good Stuff!

I'm not qualified to say "SEMPER FI!!!"

But in my memory I can tell you that Leathernecks and Jarheads were worth their weight in gold.

Uncouth to be sure, and raunchy, but damn.!!!!

[pfflier]

Yes, it has been addressed in FR and through the Boston Globe before. But, what was addressed was the tenure of his service and I am not sure it has address the nature and requirements of his service.

The same basic type of data was available on President Bush (dates of service and the Honorable discharge) and the liberals/press insisted that it was not enough. They wanted to search out people that could verify the President's location, his duties, when he went to the dentist etc..

Why isn't the same standard being applied to Kerry?