Mike Kelvington grew up in Akron, Ohio. He is an infantry officer in the U.S. Army with experience in special operations, counterterrorism, and counterinsurgency operations over twelve deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, including with the 75th Ranger Regiment. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor and two Purple Hearts for wounds sustained in combat. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, a Downing Scholar, and holds Master's degrees from both Princeton and Liberty Universities.