Thomas Kelly
A major character in Doom 3 — Master Sergeant at Marine HQ who issues the Marine's objectives through much of the campaign.
Rank: Master Sergeant
Alignment: Ally → Hostile (after transformation)
Fate: Demon / Dead
First appearance: Mars City
Voiced by: Neil Ross
Took your sweet time, Marine?— Sergeant Kelly greeting the player (Doom 3)
Background
Master Sergeant Kelly sits at the top of the enlisted chain of command at the UAC Mars Base, operating from Marine HQ. A decorated veteran with a seasoned military background, he is a stern commander with little patience for soldiers who fail to carry out orders — unreliable troops may find themselves on the worst duties (such as the solid waste facility).
Despite the strictness, he is respected for leadership and discipline. He treats his men fairly: encouragement for those who perform, and motivation for those with potential. Under pressure he stays stoic — cool, calm, and tactically sharp, without letting panic dictate his judgment.
Doom 3
Spoiler summary of the wiki plot.
When the transferred Marine arrives on Mars, Kelly urgently orders him to Marine HQ. After a brief show of annoyance at the delay, he assigns the Marine to locate missing scientist Dr. Jonathan Ishii at the Old Communication Facility and return him safely, sending a Sentry Bot ahead as a guide.
After the demonic outbreak begins, Kelly broadcasts a base-wide alert, orders squads back to HQ, and works to gather intel as units are cut off. Only Bravo Team remains fully operational; he pushes for a distress call to Earth. When the Marine — alone — reaches HQ again, Kelly is relieved and orders a link-up with Bravo via the Alpha Labs route, then continues to monitor progress and warn of dangers.
After Bravo is ambushed at the Enpro Facility, Kelly redirects the Marine to recover a transmission card from the fallen team and take it to the Communications Tower — while warning that Elliot Swann and Jack Campbell are trying to shut Earth channels. Depending on whether the Marine sends or cancels the transmission, Kelly either commends him and sets a Delta Labs rendezvous, or angrily condemns the insubordination (a choice later overridden when Betruger sends the signal himself).
Kelly later appears on a video link claiming the original rendezvous is compromised and naming an alternate route — but he is not there. Possessed by demons, he ambushes Campbell and Swann, gravely wounds Swann, takes Campbell's BFG9000, and is finally confronted in the CPU Complex as the cybernetic monster Sabaoth. The Marine kills him, ending the life of the once-proud sergeant.
Trivia
- In the BFG Edition, Kelly has brown hair.
- In the French version of Doom 3, Sarge's “final warning” remains in English.
- The circumstances of Kelly's demonic transformation are left ambiguous.