Major Matthew Kelly was born in April 1982 in Boston, MA and grew up in Carver, MA. After earning his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Rhode Island College in 2005, he commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and Reported to the Basic School aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico in May 2006.

Following The Basic School he attended the Adjutant Course in Camp Lejeune, NC and was assigned as the Adjutant for 1st Tank Battalion aboard Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center in Twenty-Nine Palms, CA. During this tour, Major Kelly deployed to Iraq in 2008 as an Individual Augment with Multi National Corps - Iraq.

In May 2009, Major Kelly reported to Recruiting Station Sacramento to serve as the Executive Officer. During this tour he earned his Master of Arts in Organizational Management from Ashford University in 2011. In 2012, he participated in the Commandant hosted ‘Exercise Virginia Gauntlet’ in Quantico, VA with a rugby match versus the Royal Marines.

In July 2012, Major Kelly reported to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard Camp Hansen in Okinawa, Japan to serve as the Command Element Adjutant and Executive Officer of Troops. During this tour he embarked on eight floats and participated in various international exercises, to include Amphibious Bilateral Exercise – Philippines, Cobra Gold in Thailand, Ssang Yong in the Republic of Korea, and Talisman Sabre & Koolendong in Australia. In addition, he participated in one POTUS support mission in Myanmar in 2012, a Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief mission to the Philippines in response to Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, and the disaster response assistance mission with the sinking of the South Korean ferry MV Sewol in 2014. Major Kelly completed Non-Resident Expeditionary Warfare School during this tour.

In June 2015, Major Kelly reported to the School of Infantry – West aboard Camp Pendleton, CA to serve as the school Adjutant. During this tour, Major Kelly was selected for the Active Reserve Program.

In July 2016, Major Kelly transitioned to the Active Reserve program and reported to the G-1 for Force Headquarters Group (FHG) in New Orleans, LA to serve as the Force Adjutant. Upon selection to Major, he transferred to the FHG G-3 where he served as the Global Force Manager until reporting to Air Command and Staff College in July 2019. Upon completion of School, Major Kelly reported to Prior Service Recruiting Station 9 in Great Lakes, IL.

Major Kelly’s personal decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (x2), the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, and the Marine Corps Recruiting Ribbon.

Major Kelly is married to the former Lauren Spetz of Leesburg, VA. They have three children; Savannah (7), Adelyn (4), Weston (1).