Lt gen john kelly usmc biography

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His Irish Catholic upbringing instilled in him a strong sense of discipline and duty.

Early Military Service

Kelly first enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1970 and served until 1972.

Kelly returned to the Second Marine Division where he served as a Rifle and Weapons Platoon Commander, Company Executive Officer, Assistant Operations Officer, and Infantry Company Commander.

Much of Kelly's two-year assignment was spent deployed in Iraq. Sea duty in Mayport, FL, followed, at which time he served aboard aircraft carriers USS Forrestal (CV-59) and USS Independence (CV-62).

Completing duty under instruction and selected for Lieutenant Colonel, he was assigned as Commanding Officer, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, CA.

Holding this command position for two years, Kelly returned to the East Coast in 1994, to attend the National War College in Washington, DC. He graduated in 1995 and was selected to serve as the Commandant's Liaison Officer to the U.S. House of Representatives, Capitol Hill, where he was promoted to colonel. In 2003, he led Task Force Tripoli in the capture of senior Iraqi military officers.

Senior Leadership and Civilian Government

From 2004 to 2007, Kelly served at Headquarters Marine Corps.

Remarks from General Kelly

On 13 November 2010, then-Lieutenant General Kelly gave a speech to the Semper Fi Society of St. Louis, MO. This was 4 days after his son, Lt Robert Kelly, USMC, was killed by an IED while on his 3rd Combat tour in Iraq.

"We Marines believe that God gave America the greatest gift he could bestow to man while he lived on this earth - freedom.

In 1999, Kelly transferred to joint duty and served as Special Assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, in Mons, Belgium. Baghdad ain't shit."

His next assignment was as Legislative Assistant to Commandant of the Marine Corps Michael Hagee. In 1984, he earned a Master's degree in National Security Studies from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.

Field Command and Staff Positions

Kelly returned to the 2nd Marine Division, where he held various command and staff positions, including Infantry and Rifle Platoon Commander, Deputy Company Commander, Assistant Operations Officer, and Rifle Company Commander.

He also served sea duty in Mayport, Florida, and aboard the aircraft carriers USS Forrestal (CV-59) and USS Independence (CV-62).

Advanced Training and Joint Assignments

In 1980, Kelly attended the Infantry Officer Advanced Course at Fort Benning, Georgia. It has been my distinct honor to have been with you here today. Kelly returned to the Second Marine Division in 1984, to command a Rifle and Weapons Company.

Completing duty under instruction and selected for Lieutenant Colonel, he was assigned as Commanding Officer, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, CA. Holding this command position for two years, Lieutenant Colonel Kelly returned to the East Coast in 1994, to attend the National War College inWashington, DC.

He graduated in 1995, and was selected to serve as the Commandant's Liaison Officer to the U.S. House of Representatives, Capitol Hill, where he was promoted to the rank of Colonel.

In 1999, Colonel Kelly transferred to joint duty and served as the Special Assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, in Mons, Belgium.

After graduating from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 1976, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps Officer Candidates School. In January 2007, Kelly was nominated for Major General and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on 11 September 2007.

Kelly's next assignment, in July 2007, was as Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

In March 2003, while in Iraq, Kelly was promoted to Brigadier General, which was the first known promotion of a Marine Corps colonel in an active combat zone since that of another First Marine Division Assistant Division Commander, Chesty Puller, in January 1951. Rest assured our America, this experiment in democracy started over two centuries ago, will forever remain the “land of the free and home of the brave” so long as we never run out of tough young Americans who are willing to look beyond their own self-interest and comfortable lives, and go into the darkest and most dangerous places on earth to hunt down, and kill, those who would do us harm.

God Bless America, and Semper Fidelis!”