I have been told that it is not routine and that there was a set time that one was expected to be on stand by. There are just more questions than answers regarding John Kerry's service and disservice to his country. The less than honorable discharge is the only logical explanation of the medal rewrites, that were done as a routine matter without the knowledge of the Secretary of the Navy whose name appears on the signature line.
"I have been told that it is not routine"
Based on my experience, which in all modesty is rather extensive, I believe that to be erroneous.
"and that there was a set time that one was expected to be on stand by."
I think here again we have a confusion of terminology. There is a service committment, active and Ready Reserve, which is a set period. However, an officer can be maintained on the Standby Reserve rolls indefinitely, unless he formally requests to resign his commission and his resignation is accepted.
"There are just more questions than answers regarding John Kerry's service and disservice to his country."
Yes, and it's starting to nauseate me to be arguing Enswine Band-Aid's case. However, I think this particular issue is just a distraction to deflect attention from real issues.
"The less than honorable discharge is the only logical explanation of the medal rewrites"
I'm sorry to seem contrary, but the two issues are not connected. A later administrative discharge has no effect on earlier awards of medals.
"that were done as a routine matter without the knowledge of the Secretary of the Navy whose name appears on the signature line."
**Reissuing** of citations and medals is a routine matter that would not normally be brought to the Secretary's attention. Lots of people lose their medals and ask for replacements.
As I'm sure you know, most of the certificates issued bear facsimile signatures rather than actual.
For instance, when I retired, I got one of those certificates of appreciation for being a cold warrior that Klintstone issued. When I closed my eyes and held my hand an inch over the signature, though, I didn't feel the emanations of pure evil that I would have if Beelzebubba had actually touched it, so I knew it was a facsimile sig.
No way the president is going to personally sign thousands of certificates. Or SECNAV, either.
**REWRITING** a citation, however, is definitely not routine, but still might not be brought before the Sec. Having a citation rewritten to make the awardee look better is exactly the kind of skullduggery I was talking about when I opined that a senator could get unfavorable material out of his service record.
I suspect that he did that, but it's simply a different issue from the type of discharge he received.