So give us the facts. It is a little hard to believe you just solved one of the great questions, about the democrat candidate of 2004 by pointing out that he was an officer.
"He was an officer, not enlisted. Only enlisted get honorable discharge. Officers have many years in reserve after active service. In this instance there is nothing unusual. Sorry."
I don't know the details in Kerry's instance, but from my own experience I had done my 8 years of Reserve in advance of my AD. So when my AD time was up I just took off the uniform and quit going to work (actually they hired me as a civilian the next week). So the years may add up, if he did his 4 years AD he was obligated to do and then another 8 in reserve. So, the years may not be as big of a deal as you are implying. I in no way mean to support Kerry in anything, I just think this issue is a waste of energy.