When Tim Kennedy, a former Special Forces sniper and Texas Army Guard soldier, retired from the mixed martial arts world in January, he said he wasn't going anywhere.
He was right.
Kennedy, with renewed confidence in the government, reenlisted in Army Special Forces on April 9.
"I got hope again," Kennedy told Fox & Friends Weekend on Sunday.
He said "the military got our teeth back," referring to the U.S. dropping the "mother of all bombs" on Islamic State militants in Afghanistan on Thursday.
"We dropped the biggest bomb — 11 tons of TNT essentially goes into destroying everything within a mile radius," he said on Sunday.
He praised Defense Secretary James Mattis and national security adviser H.R. McMaster, saying the military has supporters now who will support it.
"We have a reinvigorated, hopeful, beautiful military that is proud to be back on the team," he said on the TV show.
The day before Kennedy reenlisted, a Green Beret was killed in Afghanistan. Staff Sgt. Mark De Alencar, assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, died of injuries from enemy small-arms fire while his unit was conducting counter-ISIS operations in Nangarhar province.
Five days later, the U.S. dropped the MOAB in the Achin district of Nangarhar province. The Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the U.S. military, left a reported 94 Islamic State militants dead, as of Saturday. No civilian casualties were reported. .
In response, Kennedy posted a message to ISIS on his Instagram account:
Kennedy said the U.S. is here to "do work."
"We're here to win a war that we've been fighting and holding onto for 16 years."
Charlsy Panzino covers the Guard and Reserve, training, technology, operations and features for Army Times and Air Force Times. Email her at cpanzino@militarytimes.com.
Charlsy is a Reporter and Engagement Manager for Military Times. Email her at cpanzino@militarytimes.com.
