Tubby, I don't think that Gen. Shalikashvili got to be Chairman of the JCS by being a dummy.
He, like all military people at that level, is a politician.
He ingratiates himself with the troops to encourage them to serve him well. Not necessarliy a bad thing. Men are more likely to go the extra yard for a boss they look up to.
As to his support for John Kerry, Kerry does not support Bush's planned troop reduction in Europe. Shalikashvili is a Pole by birth, and if I am not mistaken, a former Supreme Commander of NATO.
He doesn't want to see his former "empire" diminished, so he's buttering his bread on the side that he thinks will taste best.