The Navy is just as beaurocratically inflexible as ever. When I joined, I served 23 months on a destroyer then was let out on a 1 month early out that was created for Navy budgetary reasons. I then went to college. No GI Bill because I hadn’t completed a full 24 months on active duty. Four years later, with 3 months left for an engineering degree, I got yanked and sent to Vietnam for 2 years. At 22 month in my Vietnam experience, the US was pulling out and I was to be part of the reduction. They wanted to release me early because it was not economical to send me to a ship for just 2 months. I stood my ground and pleaded my way into finishing a full 24 months in-country. When I finally did get released, I was now eligible for GI Bill benefits. I finally finished my degree.
How long was your initial enlistment? Sometime about your retelling of events doesn’t sound correct.