FWIW. I'm a 22-year Navy Chief. Ten of that as a Personnelman, the last 12 as a Master-at-Arms. I've no love lost for Kerry, but I don't think this will hold up to scrutiny.
Kerry has posted most of his Service Record on his website, including his Fitness Reports and his discharge certificate. They look like just like the pdf version of my own service record I received from the Bureau of Naval Personnel in February of this year including the "OFFICIAL RECORD COPY" watermark. These are old microfiche records the Navy is capturing to pdf and issuing to us on CD-ROM.
The posted records show he received an Honorable Discharge in Feb 78 as shown on the NAVPERS 1926/2 from the Naval Reserve Personnel Center in New Orleans. His first DD214 shows Honorable Discharge from OCS and the second characterizes his service as honorable as well. The first discharges him from his status as an officer candidate (paygrade E-5) to accept a commission, the other releases him from active duty and transfers him to the Naval Reserve. Whereupon he had a three-year service obligation to the Naval Reserve. Drill obligations aside, he was bound to his contract until 17 Feb 72.
It's important to understand here the difference between crusty old enlisted guys like me and silver spoon patrician officers like Kerry. I have a contract of finite term. At its expiration I either reenlist or I am discharged. Prior to becoming an officer, a midshipman or officer candidate typically signs an enlistment contract with the Navy. This is to ensure that Uncle Sugar gets his payback if the middie/candidate bilges out of training prior to commissioning. They are enlisted as officer candidates in paygrade E-5 and, if they've progressed far enough in their training when they bilge, they come to us in the fleet as enlisted Sailors to repay the Navy for its investment.
Kerry was honorably discharged in '66 and received his commission. Note that he had an initial active duty service obligation through 17 February 72. Further note that he was released from active duty on 03 Jan 70 at the convenience of the government (drawn down). But he still had a service obligation until 17 Feb 72.
So why no discharge in '72, Chief? Well, its because an officer, once commissioned, holds that commission (in Kerry's case a reserve commission) "at the pleasure of the President" until he resigns it or the government takes it away. It looks like Kerry was attrited by the Navy in '78. Nothing remarkable at all -- just the Navy pruning of dead wood.
Unless the posted records are a very, very good fakes (which we know the loyal opposition has not the wherewithal to create) or they're the genuine article. I don't think there's any shoaling water here for Kerry.
Welcome aboard, Chief.
The power of FreeRepublic is that, far from being "amateurs in pajamas", we are a vast collection of experience in almost any career in pajamas. When incorrect information is posted, as in this thread, several Freepers with years of experience in that particular field will set the record straight.
Contrast that to the FUBAR investigative methods at CBS News where rank amatuers on, say, 1970's typing technology and military terminology ask self-proclaimed "handwriting experts" with no formal training to authenticate a photocopy of an alleged typed military document from the 1970's.
As a Personnelman, you might enjoy how Kerry took the news media for a snipe hunt in regards to when he was "discharged" from the Navy in order to hide the fact that he was still a commissioned officer during his Vietnam Veterans Against the War days.
The Associated Press, all the newspapers that rely on the Associated Press and even John Kerry's own biographer in Tour of Duty fell for the lie that, in January 1970, Kerry "was honorably discharged and later joined Vietnam Veterans Against the War".
Kerry Deceives News Media About His Navy Discharge on JohnKerry.com
I was a short-termer in the Navy and took the middies on shakedown.
I received an Honorable Discharge from the Regular Navy and signed up for a six or nine-year period for Inactive Reserve.(Can't remember which.) Received another HD from the Reserve before that period expired when I joined the Air Force in the mid-50's.
My only point here being but to state that for enlisted personnel, real paper Honorable Discharges are given when a discrete service period has ended, and that you can't be a member of more than one branch of service at a time, (can't draw double pay) though aggregate time accrued can count towards retirement -- even reserve time. Is that correct?