Kerry was AWOL from Navy Reserve service

April 25, 2003 | confidential

[waRNmother.armyboots]

John Kerry signed an agreement as part of his naval officer commission to serve at least 3 years on active duty and the remainder of his obligated 6 year service in the Ready Reserves. Ready Reserves are those who must attend drills.

This is the agreement he released with his military records:

http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/jkerry/offcandagr.pdf

You will note that Kerry obligated himself to at least 3 years active duty, and the remainder of a 6 year obligation in the READY (not Standby) Reserves.

He further agreed that while in the READY Reserves (from discharge to 1972) he would perform no less than 48 drills per year and up to 17 active duty days per year, or alternatively 30 active duty days per year.

None of the released records shows any record of his performing these Ready Reserve obligated days in 1970, 71, 72, after which he was transferred to the Inactive Reserves. (This is as of 22 April - he may have released more since then). The only Performance of Duty form released covers 1966. There should be one for every year.

Nor is there any excusal from drilling status in his records, or alternatively, pay and attendance records indicating that he performed any drills in 1970-72 as required of a Ready Reservist.

It was George Bush's alleged non-performance of his obligated reserve duty that caused all the furor last February, yet Kerry apparently can not show his performance of his obligated Reserve duty.

The Kerry campaign has said that his separation from active duty put him in the inactive, non-drilling Naval Reserve so he could run for Congress. This is NOT true, as follows:

This following website record shows his transfer from the Ready Reserves to the Standby (Inactive) reserves did not occur until March 1972, NOT upon his release from Active Duty to run for Congress (1969/70).

http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/jkerry/trnsfr2stndyrsrv.pdf

And this following form indicates the official transfer from the Ready Reserves to the Standby (Inactive) Reserves did not formalize until July 1972.:

http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/jkerry/servicercrd.pdf

Contrary to what Kerry's minions say, the wording on his Release from Active Duty (to run for Congress) does NOT put him in the INACTIVE RESERVES - it puts him in Inactive Duty status, which includes Ready Reserves with attendant drill obligation. BIG difference - and the confusion is understandable. The legal specifics are Title 10 duty (Active Duty) Green Card) vs.. Title 32 duty (Inactive Duty) Red Card).

Had he been placed in the INACTIVE RESERVES in 1970 upon his release from AD, as Kerry's people suggest, there would not have been the 1972 Transfer to the Standby Reserves form that I show above - he would have already been there.

Also, if the timing of these records is correct, as a drilling Ready Reserve naval officer, in 1970-72 he was somewhat restricted by military regulations in what comments he could make in public regarding statements on the military leadership and the National Command Authority. Yet this is the period of his most public protests and anti-war demonstrations. In fact, his hairdo in the 1970-72 period would not meet Navy standards, and he would be sent home from drill if he had ever attended one.

[weegee]

It is a paraphrase but it was a claim that he made several times in the interview. I do not see a transcript yet. That would be great because it would show how evasive he was in the interview (he completely refused to acknowledge the 1971 interview tape that ABC aired).

[JimRed]

...anyone having already served three full years of active duty was not required to attend weekend drills as a reservist. He would have been a "non-obligor."

That is correct. I was released from active duty to the inactive reserve in August of 1964. I was offered the opportunity to transfer to the active reserve voluntarily; I chose not to do so. Had the need arisen I could have been called up, but had no drill obligations.

In 1967 I received my honorable discharge, completing my military obligation.

[null and void]

Did you know that John Kerry served in Vietnam?

Really? Which side?

[null and void]

Kerry sure is an UPFRONT kinda guy! ~snicker

Yup. Always leading with his chin...

[SheLion]

Yup. Always leading with his chin...

Think it's made out of glass? hehe!

[null and void]

Glass? Maybe. Certainly not class...

[Grampa Dave]

This is a great find.

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[OXENinFLA]

nice......

[Mo1]

I can't remember were I read it .. but it said that Kerry was in the reserves till 1978

It was the first I had heard of that, because I thought he got an early out in 72

[deport]

This is a great find.

---

Explain?..... I'm not sure there is anything here to discredit his service as prescribed.....

[optimistically_conservative]

That wouldn't prove it! Maybe he left his teeth there and went home...<\i>

Couldn't he have just mailed his teeth? Maybe he tossed his teeth over the fence along with some other people's teeth? Maybe he had the Secretary of Navy 10 years later sign his dental records? There are so many ways he could have falsified this. Consider the Forbes dynasty and ties to the Kennedy clan.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE OIL!!!! YEARGHHHHHHH!

[no more apples]

Good job. Ping.

[Grampa Dave]

There are millions of us who were in the reserves who are voters.

We served our active duty time as required and then fullfilled our contract with our reserve time after our active duty requirements were fulfilled.

It may not mean anything to you, but I can guarantee that most honorably discharged reservists will not look at al Querry with a positive eye when they hear about this.

I will be sending this to every former and present reservist/guardsman that I know and ask them to forwarded to other former and present reservists.

[Lost Highway]

I don't think there is irony at all. The Dems have a long history of accusing the opposition of what they know they are guilty of to give the appearance of payback when it comes out.

[XBob]

Warmom,

You are going to ruin our reputation here on the FRee Republic with your sloppy research.

Kerry served his allotted time, and was released from active duty (at his request) and transferred to INACTIVE Reserve (at his request). He served his time and got an honorable discharge.

Look up the records, and his ddForm214, and Release from Active Duty Letter. Released from active duty in 1970 to inactive reserve, released from reserves in 1972.

He was still in the Inactive Reserves however, when he threw 'his' medals away in 1971.

http://www.johnkerry.com/about/military_records.html
http://www.johnkerry.com/about/Release_From_Active_Duty.pdf

The disputed incident happened 33 years ago this past weekend, on April 23, 1971, when Kerry led the group Vietnam Veterans Against the War in a protest against the war they fought.

Many veterans were seen throwing their medals and ribbons over the fence in front of the U.S. Capitol. At the time, The Boston Globe and other newspapers reported that Kerry was among these veterans.

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/Politics/Investigation/kerry_vietnam_medals_040425.html

[ThomasMore]

Kerry's middle name is irony. LOL

[Robert A Cook PE]

I'm not really sure that this is really significant....

What IS significant is that Kerry left EARLY from his remaining active duty commitment to go campaign for Congress, AFTER he left Vietnam early to home to this admiral's aide billet in New York.

Small remaining problems are trivial, compared with leaving early while others were still getting shipped over there.

Bush, on the other hand, was at the other end of the fighting/buildup - the USAF had excessive pilots, many WERE combat experienced and had more hours in more modern planes than Bush did in older planes, so Bush was facing competition for flight hours and flight billets.

[XBob]

Note - Officers are committed to the military differently than Enlisted. Officers are (or were) normally enlisted for longer periods than enlisted, and must apply to get out, where as Enlisted must 'reup' and apply to stay in.

His paperwork for release from Active Duty appears to be in order to me.

[XBob]

94 - "I will be sending this to every former and present reservist/guardsman that I know and ask them to forwarded to other former and present reservists"

Please don't do that - check out my last posts.