Ok....this old sailor remembers a few things now:
The two statutes(10 USC 1162 and 1163) concerned Revocation of Officers Commissions without consent of the officer. Both statutes were repealed in 1994 and several variants of the original statute have been in effect since then. The most current version is here:
10 USC 1162 was replaced with this statute:
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§ 12683. Reserve officers: limitation on involuntary separation
Release date: 2004-03-18
(a) An officer of a reserve component who has at least five years of service as a commissioned officer may not be separated from that component without his consent except—
(1) under an approved recommendation of a board of officers convened by an authority designated by the Secretary concerned; or
(2) by the approved sentence of a court-martial.
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to any of the following:
(1) A separation under section 12684, 14901, or 14907 of this title.
(2) A dismissal under section 1161 (a) of this title.
(3) A transfer under section 12213, 12214, 14514, or 14515 of this title.
(4) A separation of an officer who is in an inactive status in the Standby Reserve and who is not qualified for transfer to the Retired Reserve or is qualified for transfer to the Retired Reserve and does not apply for such a transfer.
FYI:
10 USC 1161 talks about the limitations on dismissal of Commissioned officers:
10 USC 1162 talks about Involunatary Seperation: This is the one the Kerry document references, as well as 10 USC 1163.
Which statute was he discharged under?
Just so the facts are straight.
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§ 1161. Commissioned officers: limitations on dismissal
Release date: 2004-03-18
(a) No commissioned officer may be dismissed from any armed force except—
(1) by sentence of a general court-martial;
(2) in commutation of a sentence of a general court-martial; or
(3) in time of war, by order of the President.
(b) The President may drop from the rolls of any armed force any commissioned officer
(1) who has been absent without authority for at least three months,
(2) who may be separated under section 1167 of this title by reason of a sentence to confinement adjudged by a court-martial, or
(3) who is sentenced to confinement in a Federal or State penitentiary or correctional institution after having been found guilty of an offense by a court other than a court-martial or other military court, and whose sentence has become final.
Is there any likely innocent explanation for an involuntary separation? Some folks have speculated that this can happen after being passed over for promotion twice. That would be routine if you weren't active.