Military career
Rhodes enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1977 and worked stateside as a mechanic in Texas, achieving the rank of Airman First Class. She left the Air Force early and relocated to Ohio, where she participated in a program called Palace Chase to release her to the reserves and honorably discharge her. Although she left active duty before her contract was up, she still received an honorable discharge after completing the program
It sounds like she wasn’t very gung-ho or very good, but she is legal and a veteran. Odd that I have been unable to find the date of her discharge.
During the Carter years, there was a lot of mushy flexibility in the military and she may have a worse record than shows officially, but bottom line is that she appears able to claim full legal recognition as a veteran of the Air Force.
Thanks for the information. What you have described sounds a lot like the Expeditious Discharge Program in the mid-70’s. This was for people that could not adjust to military life or that had real attitude problems. It was also used as a way out for those looking at disciplinary sanctions (caught with relatively small amounts of pot or hash or in some cases, financial problems). Releasing them to the reserves in lieu of EDP sounds like a Carter-era program, although I am not certain when this was started being allowed. Again, thanks for the info and happy new year!