You don't get discharged until you are out of the reserves. So he was in until 1978.
I downloaded the documents on Kerry's website to get a handle on the dates and number of days between the events. Not all docs had a fully legible date. Here's the results and some observations. If someone could add the dates of his antiwar testimony, it could be very telling.
Kerry's Chronology
2/18/66 Enlisted
8/19/66 Entered
11/17/66 Assigned to Gridley
12/16/66 Out of OCS
7/17/67 Awarded Natl svc medal.
10/31/68 Report date to Cam ranh bay for Swift boat duty
11/17/68 Reported for Swift boat duty
12/2/68 First Kerry wound
12/3/68 Sick call report
12/6/68 Begin Task Force SB 115
2/20/69 Second Kerry wound
2/28/69 PH #1 application for action Dec 2, 68
2/28/69 Action for Silver Star, beached boat, shot one VC
3/5/69 PH #2 application for action Feb 20, 69
3/13/69 Action leading to Bronze Star, Rassman rescue, injured arm. Self reported.
3/13/69 Third Kerry wound
3/17/69 Thrice wounded request
3/20/69 Left Saigon
3/31/69 End Task Force SB 115
4/7/69 PH #3 application for action Mar 13, 69
6/24/69 Travel to New Orleans
8/1/69 Travel to Goose Bay, Greenland, etc.
8/1/69 Award PH#1
8/12/69 Award PH#2
8/12/69 Award PH#3
8/21/69 Travel to Balboa, Canal Zone
11/24/69 Request for early release from Active Duty
1/1/70 Promote to Lieutenant
1/2/70 Released from active duty-Xfr to active reserve
7/1/72 XFr to Standby Reserve
2/16/78 Discharged
All dates are from the records that are posted on Kerry's website. Accuracy of dates may vary due to marginal legibility of the documents.
PH#1 Action to Application = 88 days
Application to Award = 153 days
PH#2 Action to Application = 13 days
Application to Award = 148 days
PH#3 Action to Application = 25 days Action to thrice wounded application = 4 days
Application to Award = 128 days
NOTES:
1. His anti-war testimony days need to be added. He was still under service oath.
2. It took him 88 days to figure out how to get the first PH.
3. He filed the thrice wounded application 4 days after the third wound and did not apply for the PH until 21 days later, at which time he was gone.
His testimony before the Fulbright committe was in April '71 I think. He would have still been in active reserve.
How the he!! does he get away with trashing the military when he is still a part of it? Something is real wrong with this picture!