This story needs to be put in a little context and framed in a way so people can understand claims of people better, especially those who say they were near, but not right there.

I have been a cop for eleven years in a dept made up of around 230 fellow coppers.  We all know each other by first names and are sort of a close knit group of people.  Many things have happened in our city, bad, good, heroic, but I bet that if asked to critique my co-workers, like these Swiftboat characters from VietNam, I could not tell of an honest accounting of most of my co-workers' abilities. 

About the only group of people I could speak of are those in my unit and people I spend a lot of time with, especially on calls.

That is why I am skeptical of the comments coming from the people who did not serve that closely with Kerry, especially when the people on his own boat are the exact opposite.

Lastly, I can't recall who first said it, but it is probably more likely that these other soliders are coming forward because of Kerry's actions AFTER he returned from Vietnam, instead of his actions in Vietnam.