At 18 years old, Shannon Smith Kent joined the Navy and stepped up for a deployment in Iraq, working alongside a Special Operations team to hunt down terrorist threats.
Fast forward to 2013, and Shannon was pushing through rigorous training with top-tier forces in a selective program, where she crossed paths with Joe Kent, the man who'd become her spouse. They got married on Christmas Eve in 2014 and soon had two boys.
Even with her young family, Shannon powered through, completing her undergraduate degree, competing in marathons, and staying committed to high-level military roles.
When thyroid cancer hit in 2016, it barely slowed her down; she was back on duty right after her operation.
Her dream was to earn a doctorate in psychology to help vets dealing with PTSD, but Navy rules, pointing to her medical past, stood in the way of the program. Undeterred, she lobbied Congress for reforms, and those updates eventually came through.
In 2018, she headed out to Syria as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. Tragically, on January 16, 2019, a suicide attack in Manbij claimed her life, along with those of Green Beret Jonathan Farmer, civilian Scott Wirtz, and contractor Ghadir Taher. She was 33 years old.
Her memorial at the Naval Academy chapel overflowed with those paying respects. She was elevated to Senior Chief Petty Officer after her passing and awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, among others.
#MilitaryFriday #RIP
Inside a recon flight in the eyewall of Melissa. Keep in mind, these crew members were working with no pay due to the government shutdown.
Unbelievable job by everyone aboard the NOAA and AF recon missions as always.
The US Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters flew straight through Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, capturing an incredible view from inside the storm’s eye.
@EndWokeness Sure would like to see a cross reference for this with states that "stopped" counting ballots at 10 PM Nov. 3, 2020. Was there correlation to 20 million fewer Dem voters, or was it fairly well spread across the country?
@GuntherEagleman September 12, 2001. In a media hit he said Americans had to realize they needed to give up some of their freedoms in order that they might be protected from future terrorist attacks. He was exactly the type of person Ben Franklin warned against.
Why the deep state is so entrenched:
"The deep state is a ratchet: it only moves in one direction because that is what it is designed to do. The deep state ensures that our government, if it moves at all, always moves to the left, especially when it is gaining power.
This is why the Right has a very difficult time establishing lasting change in the permanent machinery of Washington.
By controlling the institutions that credential bureaucrats, the Left controls the ideology that will guide the decisions of the technocracy, no matter who ‘officially’ controls it."
--Auron MacIntyre, "One Way Government"
@AuronMacintyre