Voting Station

John F. Kelly

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Military Personnel

The Resume

    (May 11, 1950- )
    Born in Boston, Massachusetts
    John Francis Kelly
    Retired US Marine Corps four-star general
    Commanding General of the Multi-National Force West in Iraq (Feb. 2008 to Feb. 2009)
    Commander of Marine Forces Reserve/Forces North (2009 to 2012)
    Succeeded General Douglas M. Fraser as commander of U.S. Southern Command (2013 to 2016)
    Appointed Secretary of Homeland Security by President-elect Donald Trump (Jan. 20, 2017)
    Named as a replacement to Reince Priebus as White House Chief of Staff (assumed office July 31, 2017)

Why he might be annoying:

    His name comes off sounding a little like the 35th President.
    He admitted to hitch-hiking to Seattle, at 16, and getting back to Mass by hopping a freight train en route to Chicago.
    He opposed Ash Carter's proposal to allow women in combat, saying it would result in generals 'lowering standards' to please 'agenda-driven people in Washington.'
    He repeatedly clashed with the Obama administration; most notably over the closing of the Guantanamo Bay prison and the implementation of Sanctuary cities.
    He first came to Mr. Trump's attention advocating hardline immigration policies (what else) at a joint Congressional hearing. It has since been made clear he will have a role in implementing said policies, most notably 'the Wall' on the U.S.-Mexico border.
    Within hours of assuming his new post, he saw to the firing of White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci following an expletive-filled rant directed at then-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and WH advisor Stephen Bannon (although the final straw was reportedly his contention that he would report 'directly to the President' and not to the Chief of Staff).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He served as an infantryman with the 2nd Marine Division during the Vietnam War.
    He started out delivering beer to Southeast Asian ports with the Merchant Marines.
    He received a Master of Science degree in National Security Studies from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service (1984).
    He is close friends with Defense Secretary James Mattis, and the two served together during the 2003 Iraq Invasion.
    He lost his son (also a Marine) in a landmine explosion during a patrol in Afghanistan (2010).
    He thus has the distinction of being the highest-ranking American military officer to lose a child in the post-9/11 era.
    He also has the distinction of being the first retired military General to occupy the Chief of Staff position since Alexander Haig during the Reagan administration.
    He was confirmed with bipartisan support for the DHS post following Trump's inauguration, with a 88-11 vote.
    His decision to fire Scaramucci was met with sighs of relief in most quarters, including among the President's strong support base.
    He advocates a non-partisan approach to national security concerns, dismissing domestic politics as 'a cesspool' and encouraging military personnel to stay out the partisan limelight (koff Mike Flynn koff).

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 14 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 188 Votes: 54.79% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 36 Votes: 47.22% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 121 Votes: 49.59% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 78 Votes: 43.59% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 253 Votes: 48.62% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 266 Votes: 51.88% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 445 Votes: 54.38% Annoying