The men and women who make up America's military are a special breed. They leave their family, friends, and comfortable life to give a portion — or all — of their life to serve their country. Even the most catastrophically injured veterans will say they would do it all over again in a heartbeat. One familiar face decided he wasn't done yet and re-upped.
God bless Johnny Joey Jones, true patriot!! Legend!! 🇺🇸
— Kelly (@kellytx2) May 20, 2026
On Wednesday, Fox News Channel host and veteran Johnny "Joey" Jones reenlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was sworn in at a ceremony at the Pentagon. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, himself an Iraq War veteran, did the honors. After the swearing-in ceremony, Jones talked about his "unfinished business" in the Marine Corps.
"The last job I had in uniform — my job was to get better. It was to heal. It's a very selfish thing. My job was to heal. The Marine Corps paid me to get better, and then I retired. And there's nothing wrong with that, but it was unfinished business."
READ MORE: Pete Hegseth Torches Legacy Media: 'Your Politically-Motivated Animus Nearly Blinds You'
Because Jones is familiar to Fox viewers, they know at least part of his story. He is a former staff sergeant who served eight years in the Marines. He was deployed twice, and while in Afghanistan in 2010, he was an Explosive Ordinance Technician. An IED-related incident cost him both legs and severe damage to his right forearm and both wrists.
Now, Jones is in a place where he is able to joke about his injuries, but he was also sincere in his belief that he wasn't done serving his country just yet, saying:
"If there's an opportunity for me to serve, there's no reason why a no-legged 40-year-old staff sergeant should be able to put the uniform on, other than these men believed it. And the goal here is to open that door for anyone else that has something left to give."
Johnny Joey Jones is an American patriot
— @Chicago1Ray 🇺🇸 (@Chicago1Ray) May 21, 2026
He left half of himself in Afghanistan, and hasn't b'itched about it once
That's a Hero, right there
Hegseth called Jones wanting to reenlist, "an absolute no-brainer." He went on to say:
"I don't think there's a better spokesman for the Marine Corps, understanding what it's all about, what it means to serve, the brotherhood that exists then, than how Joey talks about it on television so that the American people understand it and connect to it in a visceral way. If you spend any time with them, which I know a lot of you have, you know it's in his bones. It's in his heart and soul, wearing that uniform. When I first got word that he was interested in getting back in uniform, it actually didn't surprise me."
Jones will keep his seat on "The Big Weekend Show" and will give military analysis to Fox News Media platforms. It is fitting that Johnny Joey Jones would pick this time to recommit to serving the nation. Memorial Day is just around the corner, the time when Americans pause to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, and in less than two months, we will celebrate 250 years of American exceptionalism. Everyone who believes that America is worth fighting for is needed now more than ever in ways both big and small, because there are too many who don't believe that and are not shy about describing how they want to destroy the nation. Thank God we have a military full of Johnny Joey Joneses.
🚨 AWESOME! SecWar Pete Hegseth just REENLISTED Joey Jones to the Marine Corps
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 20, 2026
JONES: "I'm doing it because I have a debt left to give... It means the world to me to be here to finish the story that I started writing twenty-one years ago."
PATRIOT. 🇺🇸👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/Z05OtUMhou
Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.
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