by the Bureau of Naval Personnel), because those who had been wounded three times, "regardless of the nature of the wound or treatment required ... will not be ordered to serve in Vietnam and contiguous waters or to duty with ships or units which have been alerted for movement to that area." According to the Navy regulation that governed this (BUPERS Instruction 1300.39), the request for the "thrice-wounded reassignment" was optional at the request of the wounded party and required requesting reassignment. Kerry requested reassignment and was granted his request. On March 26, after a final patrol at night on March 25, Kerry was transferred to Cam Ranh Bay to await his orders. He was there for five or six days and left Vietnam in early April. On April 11, he reported to the Brooklyn-based Atlantic Military Sea Transportation Service, where he would remain on active duty for the following year as a personal aide to an officer, Rear Admiral Walter Schlech. On January 1, 1970, Kerry was promoted to full Lieutenant; on January 3, he requested discharge. He was released from active duty on March 1. All told, John Kerry was on active duty in the U.S. Navy for three years and eight months, from August 1966 until March 1970. He continued to serve in the Navy Reserves until February, 1978. He lost five close friends in the war, including Yale classmate Richard Pershing, who was killed in action on February 17, 1968. Honorable discharge On November 21, 1969, Kerry requested an early release from active duty in order to become a candidate for Congress. The request was approved and he was released from active duty effective January 3, 1970, and transferred to the Ready Reserve (inactive). On March 1, 1972, the Navy offered Kerry the option of executing a written request to remain in the Ready Reserve or automatically being transferred to the Standby Reserve - Inactive; Kerry was subsequently transferred to the Standby Reserve - Inactive effective July 1, 1972. Kerry had no obligation to attend drills or contact the Navy other than to keep his address current. On February 16, 1978, Kerry received an "Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Naval Reserve," pursuant to former Section 1162 of Title 10 of the U.S. Code and "in accordance with the approved recommendations of a board of officers convened under the authority of [former] Section 1163 of Title 10