Over the past few months many readers have written us regarding the status of John Kerry's discharge from the Navy. We have refrained from addressing the issue absent hard information. Today's New York Sun carries Thomas Lipscomb's page-one account: "Mystery surrounds Kerry's Navy discharge." Lipscomb's is the first serious journalistic effort to shed some light on the fundamental question regarding the nature of Kerry's discharge from the Navy. (Thanks to the many readers who emailed us this timely story.)

UPDATE: See also "Was Kerry's discharge less than honorable?" at BeldarBlog and "Kerry's discharge" at PoliPundit. Reader Craig McLauglin seems to me to strike the appropriate cautionary notes:

It is important to note the distinctions in the types of discharge that can be given and under what circumstances. The Sun article throws the term dishonorable discharge around much too lightly. It is a term of art. A dishonorable discharge, DD, or duck dinner, can only be given as a sentence of a General Court-Martial. And can't be given to officers at all. For commissioned officers the appropriate sentence would be Dismissal. Both are very serious, are the result of a federal felony conviction and would, I believe, preclude the recipient from the practice of law. Therefore, it is extremely unlikely in Mr. Kerry's case.

The most severe type of discharge which can be given administratively, i.e. without convening a court-martial, is an OTH, other than honorable. But the service member is entitled to an administrative hearing and to be represented by council. In my ten years in the Navy as an officer I never saw one given. And as Legal officer I had many occasions to try. I'm not even sure an OTH can be given to an officer...

Whatever happened with Senator Kerry's discharge, it is likely much ado about nothing much. But, if He'd release his records we wouldn't have to speculate. Would We?

I spoke with Mr. Lipscomb this morning and believe he is aware of the issues raised in this message; it is my understanding that he believes Kerry may have originally received a general discharge. I am persuaded that his necessarily speculative reconstruction of events is based on solid reporting including interviews with knowledgeable people. For an intuitive, skeptical take on Lipscomb's reconstruction, however, see Hugh Hewitt.

UPDATE 2: Reader Roger Mitchell offers an alternative reading of the documents that also merits consideration:

Red herring, folks. I'm no fan of Kerry, but. . .

Reading the other documents on his website, you find that Kerry was separated from active duty in the U.S. Naval Reserves into inactive duty effective 1600 hours on January 2, 1970. My take is he remained a member of the USNR (inactive) until the Navy performed a review in 1977 or 78 of personnel still on inactive duty status and determined that he was no longer needed by the Navy in the event of a call-up (this was about the time of the big Carter downsizing of the military). Since, technically he was still in the USNR, and had not requested separation, the cover letter explaining his involuntary separation was generated (and thus the references to the Title 10 sections on involuntary separation). Read paragraph 2 of the letter in question - you'll note that the board mentioned as unusual in the Sun article was convened to "...examine the official records of Officers of the Naval Reserve on inactive duty and determine whether they should be retained on the rolls of the Reserve Component or separated from the naval service..." You will also see the letter from the Naval Reserve Personnel Center in New Orleans in July of 1978 indicating acceptance of the discharge and requesting that Kerry return his USNR identification card to them for disposal.

While it is possible that Kerry stayed in the USNR as long as he did in order to assure that he would be discharged under a more favorable political climate (he very well may have been targeted by the Nixon White House had he requested a discharge in 1972), the point is rather moot. He was discharged in 1978 after a routine review by the Navy of inactive duty personnel deemed him unneeded.

Now, let's just hope that the rest of America deems him unneeded.

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/mt/mt-diespammers.cgi/8230

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference The light of the Sun:

» Questions... from Milblog
Captain's Quarters, Powerline and Vodkapundit are all reporting on this, so I figure I should too. You know, I'm of the opinion that Kerry should be judged impartially on what he's done. For instance - I think his actions in... [Read More]

Tracked on October 13, 2004 10:17 AM

» Awaiting Further Investigations from Democracy Project
The Big Trunk at Power Line called my attention to an important story about John Kerry's discharge from the Navy. The full text of the article is available on the site of the New York Sun, which has become something... [Read More]

Tracked on October 13, 2004 10:42 AM

» Was Kerry's original discharge less than honorable? from BeldarBlog
In a front-page article in today's New York Sun, reporter Thomas Lipscomb asserts that in all probability, Sen. John F. Kerry originally received a less-than-honorable discharge from the United States Naval Reserve [Read More]

Tracked on October 13, 2004 11:11 AM

» Dean Esmay Swiftie Interview from The Jawa Report
Check it out: DW: Would you use the word "treason" to describe [Kerry's activities]? GE: No I wouldn't go that far, but in my own mind it comes damned close.... ....Where are his discharge papers? He has not put up... [Read More]

Tracked on October 13, 2004 12:08 PM

» sKerry's Discharge? from Bob's Place
Thomas Lipscomb of the NY Sun provides an interesting and probably true analysis of the whys and wherefores of Lurch's discharge wanderings and awardings during the period after his original, undocumented (publically) discharge. The changed of a othe... [Read More]

Tracked on October 13, 2004 12:27 PM

» Was Kerry dishonorably discharged? from Commonwealth Conservative
The story floating around the blogosphere today is about the possibility that John Kerry was actually dishonorably discharged (or less than honorably discharged) from the Navy, way back when. Today, the New York Sun has an article that is fanning the... [Read More]

Tracked on October 13, 2004 02:59 PM

» I think we are missing the point of this election. from The Pink Flamingo Bar Grill
Beldar as usual has done a terrific job of rounding up information about Kerry's discharge from the military. Problem is I dont believe it matters. Lets ask ourselves why we are supporting the Swift Boat vets, Stolen Honor vets, and others who have don... [Read More]

Tracked on October 13, 2004 03:36 PM

» Kerry's Navy Discharge Questioned from CALIFORNIA YANKEE
The New York Sun reports that Kerry's discharge is surrounded in mystery: An official Navy document on Senator Kerry's campaign Web site listed as Mr. Kerry's "Honorable Discharge from the Reserves" opens a door on a well kept secret about [Read More]

Tracked on October 13, 2004 04:38 PM

» Kerry Discharge Questions Are Likely a Red Herring from Scary Kerry for Dictator 2004
Scary Kerry debunks the so called mysterious discharge of John Kerry. Mind you I loath Kerry but I'm not going to stoop to democratic tactics by promulgating a red herring. [Read More]

Tracked on October 13, 2004 06:32 PM

» Some things shouldn't be kept in the closet! from Classical Values
It's late on a Friday and I really don't want to do this. But a nagging question just won't go away, and I don't think it should be allowed to go away. There has been a great deal of speculation... [Read More]

Tracked on October 16, 2004 04:01 PM

» Some things shouldn't be kept in the closet! from Classical Values
It's late on a Friday and I really don't want to do this. But a nagging question just won't go away, and I don't think it should be allowed to go away. There has been a great deal of speculation... [Read More]

Tracked on October 17, 2004 07:41 AM

» online casino from online casino
You may find it interesting to visit the sites about online poker online casino phentermine [Read More]

Tracked on February 1, 2005 12:11 AM

» online casino from online casino
You may find it interesting to visit the sites about online poker online casino phentermine [Read More]

Tracked on February 1, 2005 12:12 AM

» online casino from online casino
You may find it interesting to visit the sites about online poker online casino phentermine [Read More]

Tracked on February 1, 2005 12:13 AM

» texas holdem from texas holdem
Please check some relevant pages about online poker texas holdem phentermine [Read More]

Tracked on February 11, 2005 11:26 PM