Delgado Legislation to Name Pine Plains Post Office After Fallen Soldier, Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent, Passes Committee
WASHINGTON, DC—This week, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform passed Representative Antonio Delgado’s (NY-19) legislation to rename a Pine Plains Post Office after fallen soldier Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon M. Kent who was one of four Americans killed in January by a suicide bombing in Syria during her fifth combat tour in the Middle East.
Rep. Delgado introduced bipartisan legislation to rename a Pine Plains Post Office in her honor in May along with Reps. Elise Stefanik (NY-21), Joseph Morelle (NY-25), Kathleen Rice (NY-04), and Anthony Brindisi (NY-22). Delgado’s bill would change the name of the post office at 7722 South Main Street in Pine Plains, New York, to the “Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon M. Kent Post Office.” This post office is located in Kent’s hometown.
“Senior Chief Petty Officer Kent’s life and service to her country should be an example for us all. I commend the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for passing this legislation to create a living memorial for Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent in Dutchess County.” Delgado continued, “I will continue to urge House leadership to bring this bill to the House floor to honor her life and legacy.”
Kent, a wife and mother of two children, who was 35 at the time of her death, was an “example to all of us,” said Delgado, who has honored her on the Floor of the House of Representatives and spearheaded efforts in Congress to change the Department of Defense (DOD) regulation that forced Senior Chief Kent to deploy to Syria rather than continue academic study.
Kent survived thyroid cancer in 2016 and in 2018 was selected to participate in a special officer program to earn a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. She was later disqualified, having not met the required medical standards established under a DOD rule, from seeking the commission as an officer in the armed forces. She appealed, and was denied a waiver, and in November 2018 deployed to Syria. Senior Chief Petty Officer Kent was the recipient of the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, two Joint Service Commendation Medals, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Joint Service Achievement Medal.
