JACKSON — A congressman is being promoted to brigadier general in the Mississippi National Guard.
Trent Kelly has been in the Army National Guard more than 32 years. He is currently a colonel. His promotion ceremony is Jan. 20.
The Republican from Saltillo won a special election to the U.S. House from north Mississippi’s 1st District in June 2015.
The 51-year-old Kelly becomes the first person since G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery to serve simultaneously as a member of Congress and general officer in the Mississippi National Guard.
Montgomery was a World War II veteran of the Army and served 35 years with the Guard, retiring as a major general. The Meridian native served as a Democrat in Congress from 1967 to 1997. Montgomery was 85 when he died in 2006.
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