Mississippi Congressman Trent Kelly has officially retired from the military.
On Saturday, inside the state capitol rotunda in Jackson, Gov. Tate Reeves hosted a retirement ceremony for Kelly, a Major General and Assistant Adjutant General with the Mississippi Army National Guard.
Kelly began his military career with the 134th Engineer Company in 1985. His career as an officer began upon graduating from the University of Mississippi and commissioning as an engineer officer in 1988. He has served in various positions of increasing responsibility, including command at the company, battalion, and brigade levels as well as key staff positions at the Mississippi National Guard Joint Force Headquarters.
Kelly deployed in support of Operation Desert Storm in 1990 and twice to Iraq during the global war on terrorism. He first deployed to Iraq as the Operations Officer for the 150th Engineer Battalion in 2005, and again in 2009 as the Battalion Commander of Task Force Knight, 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team.
Promoted to colonel shortly after returning from his second tour in Iraq, Kelly became the Brigade Commander for the 168th Engineer Brigade based in Vicksburg. He won a special election runoff to represent Mississippi’s First Congressional District in June 2015 and was selected as the Assistant Adjutant General in September 2020.
“As a young soldier, choose your mentors well. They don’t always choose you. Find people you want to emulate or be like, but also understand that they’re not perfect and they’re going to have flaws. So ignore their flaws. Learn from them and don’t repeat them, but learn all the good things you can from them,” Kelly said, offering a word of advice to those who answer the call to serve in the military. “Enjoy every single day of it. When it’s over — it’s over.”
As for his time in the service, Kelly is proud of all he’s accomplished and how the military has opened a multitude of doors in his life. Kelly, a Republican serving his fifth term in D.C., remains an ardent advocate for U.S. troops in his current role as a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
“I can truthfully say that I feel like I’ve gotten everything out of the Mississippi National Guard that I’ve put into it, and I’ve put in a lot,” Kelly added. “There’s a cost to that, but it’s worth every second.”
Kelly’s retirement ceremony can be watched below.
