As far as I can tell, he resuested an early release from active duty in order to get out of Vietnam early and become an attathe to an admiral...later he requested an early discharge to run for office...I believe that was 1972 but am going by memory and so might be wrong.
Errr...make that *requested and *attache. Sheesh.
He used the "three Purple Heart" policy to cut his Vietnam tour short. After returning to the U.S., he would still have been on active duty.
See Post 147. It explains the difference between the terms "discharge" and "release from active duty".
There is a lot of confusion with the terms "realease from active duty" and "discharge" being used improperly.
You do not need a "discharge" to run for office.
There are three active reservists in Congress: Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., is in the National Guard.
You do, however, need a "release from active duty" to run for office. You can't very well tell your Commanding Officer that you won't be showing up for duty any longer because you were elected to Congress.