Prior to his retirement in 2016, Kelly was the most senior US military officer to lose a son or daughter in battle. His son, Lieutenant Michael Kelly, was killed after stepping on a land mine in 2010 while serving in Afghanistan.
While in the military, Kelly served as commander of US Central Command, which deals with immigration issues in the command’s area of responsibility covering more than 30 nations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
He has often cited the need to improve security along the US-Mexican border to cope with drug trafficking, illegal immigration, human smuggling gangs and a possible gateway for terrorists planning attacks in the United States.
Kelly’s experience with nonmilitary issues at Southern Command helped secure the nomination, with Trump determined to build a wall separating the United States and Mexico.
Never miss a story again — sign up to our Telegram channel and we'll keep you up to speed!
