Kirby was commissioned in September 1986 after completing Officer Candidate School at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island. He qualified as a Surface Warfare Officer aboard the guided-missile frigate USS Aubrey Fitch before obtaining a lateral transfer to the Restricted Line as a Public Affairs Officer. As a public affairs officer, Kirby served at sea aboard the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal and on the staff of the Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet, embarked aboard the command and control ship USS Mount Whitney. While ashore, Kirby completed tours as an instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy; public affairs officer with the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron ; editor in chief of the Navy's flagship monthly magazine, All Hands; the staffs of the Chief of Naval Personnel, Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe, Chief of Naval Operations, and the special assistant for public affairs to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His most recent assignment was serving as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for media operations. Kirby served as the U.S. Navy's chief of information, serving as the principal spokesman for the Department of the Navy and providing strategic communication counsel to the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations. As the Navy's Chief of Information, he led the Navy's public affairs community consisting of more than 2,700 active and reserve officer, enlisted, and civilian communication professionals. In December 2013, he was appointed by SECDEF Chuck Hagel to be the Pentagon press secretary. In October 2014, Senator John McCain called Kirby an "idiot" disputing Kirby's contention that the US is winning its war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. On April 22, 2015, it was announced that Kirby would be the new spokesman for the United States Department of State after he retired from the military later in the year. Admiral Kirby officially became spokesman for the State Department on May 12, 2015. In October 2016, Kirby defended the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen against the ShiaHouthis. On December 13, 2016, Kirby said in response to questions from RT correspondent Gayane Chichakyan in a daily press briefing that he has no expectation of being invited by President-elect of the United StatesDonald Trump to stay on under the leadership of Secretary of State-designate Rex Tillerson and he has "every expectation of resigning at the end of" the Obama Administration. He left office following the inauguration of President Trump on January 20, 2017. On July 13, 2020 Kirby’s son Colin Kirby qualified as a Surface Warfare Officer onboard USS DEXTROUS homeported in Manama, Bahrain. This career milestone was overshadowed by Admiral Kirby being interviewed by CNN that same day regarding the fire on the USS BONHOMME RICHARD.
