John Francis Kelly is the current White House Chief of Staff in the administration of President Trump. He is a former US Marine Corps General. Before moving to the current post, he was the Secretary of Homeland Security in the Trump administration.
Kelly is regarded as one of the most conservative hardline members in the Trump WH on different issues, especially immigration.
Early Life and Education
John was born on 11th May, 1950, into a Catholic Irish family in Boston, MA. His father was a postal worker working in Brighton. John was raised in this Brighton community of Boston.
John enlisted for the U.S. Marine Corps in 1970 after being informed by his mother about his draft number. He served with the the 2nd Marine Division in an infantry company at North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune. Two years later, he was discharged as a reserve inactive sergeant so that he could go to college.
In 1975, Kelly rejoined the Marines, finished Officer Candidates School, and became a second lieutenant. He attended the University of Massachusetts and graduated in 1976. Later, he went to the Georgetown School of Foreign Service and graduated with a MA degree in National Security Affairs in 1984. In 1995, he graduated with an MS degree in Strategic Studies from Washington DC’s National Defense University.
Career
After his return to the 2nd Marine Division, Kelly worked as a weapons platoon and rifle platoon commander, rifle company commander, assistant operations officer, and company executive officer. He was transferred to the Headquarters Marine Corps located in DC in 1980. He served there as an assignment monitor till 1984 and then returned to his Division. In 1987, he was promoted to major and was a battalion operations officer.
Kelly moved to the Basic School located in Virginia in 1987 and headed the Tactics Group and Offensive Tactics Section. He was then appointed as the Infantry Officer Course Director. After finishing his duty, he became a lieutenant colonel and the commanding officer of 1st LAR, Camp Pendleton, CA. He returned to the East Coast, got promoted as colonel, and began serving as the Commandant’s Liaison Officer to the Congress.
In 1999, Kelly joined duty and was special assistant to Europe’s Supreme Allied Commander based in Belgium. He came back to Camp Lejeune in 2001 and served with the 2nd Marine Division as assistant chief of staff. A year later he served as assistant division commander in the 1st Marine Division and was deployed in Iraq. During this period he was promoted to the rank of a brigadier general.
Kelly became a major general in 2007. He took command of the Multi-National Force–West in Feb 2008 in Iraq and returned to the US in 2009. He became a lieutenant general in 2011.He became a General in 2012 and subsequently assumed the position of the commander of U.S. Southern Command, succeeding General Douglas M. Fraser.
In Dec 2016, President Trump nominated Kelly as the head of the Department of Homeland Security. The senate confirmed him as the Secretary of Homeland Security in Jan 2017. On 28th July, 2017, Trump replaced Reince Priebus with Kelly as the White House Chief of Staff.
Personal Life and Trivia
- Kelly married Karen Hernest in 1976. The couple has 3 children.
- Kelly’s eldest son, First Lieutenant Robert Kelly, died in Sangin, Afghanistan, after stepping on a landmine during a patrol.
- John Jr., the second son of Kelly, is Marine Corps major
- Some of the many military awards of Kelly include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, and Legion of Merit with Combat “V”.
- Kelly served as the Secretary of Homeland Security for only 6 months, from January, 2017 to July, 2017. This is the shortest period that any person in that post has held that post.
John F. Kelly – Salary and Net Worth
John receives an annual salary of $174,500 as the WH Chief of Staff. His net worth is estimated to be about $4 million.
