Colonel Kelley is a native of Ekron, Kentucky. He received his commission through the United States Military Academy in 2002. His first assignment was with the 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Irwin, California. Following graduation from the Armor Captains Career Course, he was assigned to the University of Oregon as an Assistant Professor of Military Science. He then commanded a Cavalry Troop and Headquarters Troop with the 4th Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment. Following this assignment, Colonel Kelley served as a Congressional Fellow in the U.S. House of Representatives and later as an Army Congressional Budget Liaison in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller. In his next role, he served as the Battalion Operations Officer and Executive Officer for the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment. He later served at the United States Army Armor School at Fort Benning as the lead for the commandant’s initiatives group. Colonel Kelley then commanded the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment. Following battalion command, he was assigned to the Joint Staff J35 as the Emergent Requirements Branch Chief for Global Force Management. Most recently, he completed a U.S. Army War College Fellowship at Columbia University.
Colonel Kelley’s operational deployments include Operation Iraqi Freedom from January 2005 to February 2006; Operation Enduring Freedom from July 2010 to June 2011; and Atlantic Resolve from March to October 2016, and from July 2021 to June 2022.
Colonel Kelley is married to the former Ms. Erin Surgenor of Flaherty, Kentucky. They have four children: Grace (22), Sam (21), Jack (17), and Tommy (15).