PHOENIX (AP) — The Pentagon is suggesting it could recall U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly to active military duty to punish him for appearing in a video that called for troops to defy “illegal orders.”
Before he was a Democratic senator from Arizona, Kelly was a senior Navy officer and pilot who flew combat missions in the first Gulf War. He went on to be a military test pilot and NASA astronaut, part of a small club of space explorers who went on to serve in Congress.
Responding to the Pentagon on Monday, Kelly posted on social media a close-up photo of the medals hanging from his white Navy dress uniform.
“If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work,” Kelly wrote.
What did Kelly do in the military?
Kelly commissioned in the Navy after graduating from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. He flew 39 combat missions during the first Gulf War, where he says he dodged anti-aircraft fire and a missile that exploded near his jet.
As an astronaut, Kelly flew four space shuttle missions over a decade beginning in 2001, two of them as commander.
His identical twin, Scott Kelly, also is an astronaut who once spent a year at the International Space Station. The brothers were studied extensively to help scientists understand how prolonged periods in space affect the body.
Mark Kelly retired as a captain, the rank just below rear admiral, in 2011.
His role as an astronaut has been core to his political persona. Parents routinely bring children dressed in spacesuits to his political events, where his standard uniform includes a NASA jacket adorned with patches. He often visits schools and fields questions like, “How do you go to the bathroom in space?”
His political career was forged in tragedy
Kelly’s first turn in the national political spotlight came through tragedy. His wife, then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, was shot in the head in 2011 while meeting with constituents outside a grocery store in Tucson. The shooting left six people dead and spawned an early reckoning with political violence and partisan rancor.
Giffords’ survival made her a national inspiration but snuffed out a promising political career of her own. She and Kelly went on to found a gun-control advocacy group, and Giffords has been a powerful surrogate as Kelly has taken her place in politics.
He was elected to replace the late Sen. John McCain
In his two Senate campaigns — the first in 2020 to finish the term of the late Republican Sen. John McCain and the second two years later for a full term — Kelly earned more votes than any other Democrat on the ballot.
In the Senate, Kelly has focused on national security and the military as well as the drought plaguing the U.S. West. He was instrumental in crafting the CHIPS and Science Act, a bill signed by Biden to boost U.S. semiconductor manufacturing.
He was a finalist to be Kamala Harris’ running mate in her brief presidential campaign last year.
Originally from New Jersey, he settled with Giffords in Tucson after retiring from NASA and the Navy.
By JONATHAN J. COOPER
Associated Press
