Polybius, please see 96 & 99.
deport says Kerry fulfilled his obligations.
My point was that even by Kerry's own admission, he got out early, i.e. did NOT fulfill his full obligations.
Looks like you have done considerable research on the subject. Perhaps you could address deport's points.
Just what I read shows that Kerry was involved with anti-war activities, while still an officer in uniform.
"One day in October 1969, Peggy Kerry was working in the New York office of a Vietnam War protest group that was planning a "moratorium" peace rally in Washington, which would draw 250,000 protesters one month later. A leader in the New York protest, Adam Walinsky, a former speechwriter for Robert F. Kennedy, said he needed a pilot and plane to take him around the state on Oct. 15. Did anyone know a pilot?
Peggy Kerry said she would provide such a volunteer: her brother.
John Kerry flew Walinsky around New York to deliver speeches against the war. Kerry did not wear his uniform and did not speak at the events, but the experience helped convince him that he wanted to become a public leader of the antiwar movement. On Jan. 3, 1970, Kerry requested that his superior, Rear Admiral Walter F. Schlech, Jr., grant him an early discharge so that he could run for Congress on an antiwar platform. "
http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/061703.shtml
When Kerry claims that he was "discharged early", I believe that that is nothing but a bald-faced lie.
Kerry has deliberately confused the news media into using the terms "release from active duty" and "discharge" interchangeably. Those terms are NOT interchangeable and they have drastically different meanings.
As I asked in a previous post: How can a Naval Officer get an "early" Honorable Discharge in 1970 and then get a SECOND Honorable Discharge in 1978?
You can't.
Kerry may have gotten an "early" release from active duty in 1970 but he couldn't have gotten Honorable Discharges in 1970 and then again in 1978.
The entire matter of "Kerry fulfilling his Reserve obligation" is a separate matter and a red herring.
Some people want to know where Kerry drilled and where his Reserve Fitness Reports are.
They are barking up a nonexistent tree.
Kerry's service obligation, IAW his contract was 3 years of active duty, a period in the Ready Reserve (that when added to his active duty time would amount to 5 years) and then a period in the Inactive Reserves until a total time of 6 years after his commissioning as an Ensign.
What is the drill obligation of a Ready Reservist?
Absolutely zero.
All that being in the Ready Reserves means is that you have to keep the Navy informed of your address so that, if Uncle Sam wants you back in the Canoe Club in a national emergency, they recall you to active duty.
When you go into the Inactive Reserves, your call back priority drops even further.
Once you are discharged, you become a civilian. (Retired folks however have to read the fine print....As my USN, retired grandfather-in-law found out, to his great dismay, after Pearl Harbor.)
I say this from personal experience.
I spent, 8 years on Active Duty, 12 years in the Ready Reserve and the Inactive Reserve and, after 20 years, the Navy gave me a Certificate of Retirement and informed me that I could now keep the title of my rank and was now USNR (ret.)
During my non-active duty Reserve time, I kept my medical skills up in my medical practice and the Navy gave me a call during the Gulf War when my obligated service time was zero.
I never once spent a single minute in a drilling Reserve unit.
Do I get a retirement check?
No. If I had wanted one, I would have had to join a drilling unit.
As the Navy clearly said, I was been issued an "Honorary Retirement" ......... Translation: You are entitled to the honor but are not entitled to any retirement money.
If I ever run for office, the Democrats will call me AWOL because I have no record of any drills or Fitness Reports during my Reserve time.