1) I couldn't possibly care any less than I do what some deranged arbitration produced, nor would I, in my worst nightmares, EVER advance a product of whimsical arbitration as being ANY personal, "moral justification" ...EVER....Period!
2) In your mind, apparently yes = The kid actually showed up for indoc/etc 😉 Such a Herculean feat and demonstrated sacrifice and devotion to duty should certainly and always, outweigh the actual 17 years of service of anyone else, anywhere. Doesn't that go without saying? 😉
3) That's complete and utter BS...and utterly contemptible.
As noted above. We're done here.