JD Vance (00:01):
It is great to be here. It's great to be in Quantico. As a proud member of the E-IV Mafia, I had never made it to Quantico myself, but it's one of the reasons why I wanted to run Vice President. I thought maybe it was time for the Colonels and Generals to listen to the Corporals for a change. How's that sound? So you all know how big of a part of the Marine Corps was of my life and how important it was for me, and I just wanted to say from the bottom of my heart, from one Marine to another, thank you for your service. We're proud of you and I'm proud to be here with my fellow Marines. God bless you guys.
(00:41)
Now, some of you may know that the Marine Corps actually… There are a lot of good things the Marine Corps did for me. When I joined the Marines back in 2003, I was just a kind of directionless kid. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. And as you all know, the Marine Corps is good at giving direction to 18-year-old kids. But it also saved me from making one of the worst financial decisions that I have ever made. And as you guys probably appreciate, there are often these used car dealerships outside of Marine Corps bases. You know what I'm talking about? And I remember when I was probably a 19-year-old kid, I was going to buy a used Honda Civic at one of those used car dealerships. And the dealership was kind enough to offer me the low, low interest rate of 21% to buy that used car.
(01:30)
And it was a Marine Corps gunnery Sergeant, Gunny Arledge who said, "You know what? Why don't you stop being an idiot? Go to Navy Federal Credit Union and get a better deal." And Gunny Arledge saved me from making a terrible mistake. And that's what the Marine Corps does. That's what you all do from the NCOs to the officers here, you guys help form our young people into United States Marines. And that is, I think, the best thing the Marine Corps does for the United States of America. I'm proud of all of you.
(01:58)
As general Chuck Krulak said, "The Marine Corps does two things. It wins battles, it wins wars, and it makes Marines." And that's a pretty good thing to do for the United States of America. So I'm proud of you guys. I'm proud to be here. I'm proud of what you do. And most of all today I'm proud that I think under new leadership, the Marine Corps and the entire United States military is headed in the right direction. And that's why I'm here today to talk a little bit about what we're going to do, talk a little bit about President Trump's vision for the United States military. And importantly after I do that and I serve some chow at the chow hall, I'm going to go shoot some guns, right?
(02:37)
So here's the thing. Under President Trump's leadership, we believe in a very simple principle. We don't care who you are, where you came from. We don't care what skin color you are. We care about excellence and we care about patriotism. And if you are awesome and you are a patriotic young Marine, then we are going to do everything that we can to make you the most lethal fighting force the world has ever seen. And that is what we're doing every single day. No more quotas, no more ridiculous mumbo-jumbo. No more diversity trainings. We believe the real strength and the real diversity in the United States Marine Corps is that you all come from every walk of life, come from every corner of America, and you have got the strength and the purpose to win the nation's wars. And that is what the Marine Corps is going to do, just like it's done for Dan Meir 250 years.
(03:30)
Now, speaking of that as my dear friends and as a lot of know. Well, maybe you don't because a lot of young faces out here. That's the thing, I'm 40 years old now and I realize that compared to when I joined the Marine Corps, I'm an old-ass man now. But here's the thing. The best friends that I've ever made in my life, I've made in the Marine Corps. People who came to my vice presidential inauguration in the President's inauguration just a couple of months ago are people that I first met in boot camp or first met in follow-on school, first met at my first duty station, people who have held my children when they were little babies, people who I've helped welcome new children into the world.
(04:09)
You guys have no idea that the people standing to your left and to your right, these are lifelong friends. They're going to follow you around whether you want to or not for the rest of your life. And I think that's one of the great blessings of the United States Marine Corps. And one of the things I learned from my great Marine friends, they remind me, is that this November, of course, our Great Corps is going to celebrate 250 proud years. And as I know, because I've been to a few Marine Corps birthday balls myself, I'm sure it'll be a total sober no alcohol celebration for the Marine Corps 250th birthday. But from one Marine to another let me just say that we are excited to celebrate the Marine Corps 250th anniversary, 250 years of winning wars, 250 years of kicking ass and taking names.
(04:58)
So here's the basic plan. Here's what we're going to do. We're going to invest in the Marine Corps and the entire United States military like we never have before. Over a trillion dollars we're going to invest in building up the manufacturing base of this country so that you guys, when you do go to war, when you have to go to war, you've got the best weapons anywhere in the world. We know from the long history of the United States of America that while the leading edge of American power is you all, it really matters what you guys have in your hands and what you guys have on your backs when you go to war. And so I promised you from the President of the United States, we are going to send you, if we have to send you to war with the best equipment, the best ammunition, the best weapons, and we are going to empower you guys to win when you have to. That's the purpose of the United States Marine Corps. Am I right?
(05:50)
So that's what we're going to do. And of course, I got some good news. Over the last few years some of the military branches had some recruitment problems, not the Marine Corps actually. The Marine Corps was the one branch that consistently met its recruitment goals. And that probably has something to do with the fact that the Marine Corps is a little bit smaller as you all know. But this year now, we have got every single branch of the United States military for the past two months has been meeting its recruitment goals because I think I see and I see in your faces what we're seeing all across the country, a renewed sense of patriotism, a renewed commitment to excellence, and that is what is going to make the United States military the strongest fighting force anywhere in the world.
(06:32)
So thank you all. Thank you for being part of it. Thank you for being part of 250 years of great American tradition. Thanks to you guys for being willing to put on the uniform and serve your country. I always say that the most important thing that we have in this country, the most valuable natural resource. We got plenty of oil, we got plenty of natural gas, we got great mines and minerals. But the most valuable resource that we have in the United States of America is you all. It's young people who are patriotic and dedicated, who are willing to put on the uniform of the United States and risk your lives to defend your fellow citizens. That's an amazing thing.
(07:10)
I know it's easy to forget when you go about doing your jobs and you're just worried about getting through the day, worried about getting to the next week, worried about doing the good job that all of you do, that what you're doing is an amazing thing. And it's easy to forget that because you don't always have the vice president dropping in to say thank you. But I want you to remember that whether you serve another couple years in the United States Marine Corps, whether you're at the beginning of a 20 or 30-year career that we respect you, we thank you and this vice president and the President of the United States know that you guys are the most important resource that we have in the United States Marine Corps, or excuse me, in the United States of America. So thank you all and God bless you.
(07:52)
And the final thing I want to say here is I was actually, and I know I was late, it's funny. That is not Marine Corps time, my friends. I remember Gunny Arledge always told me, "If you're five minutes early, you're 10 minutes late." I'm sure you guys have heard that phrase. Well, what does it mean when the vice president is two hours late? I guess I'm on time because who the hell's going to get me in trouble, right? But here's the thing, my friends, is the reason I was a little bit late is because I was in the Oval Office talking to the president and I stood up and I said, "Sir, I know we're in the middle of something, but the Marines at Quantico are waiting on me." And he said, "Oh, I didn't realize that. You got to get out of here. You got to get out there." And I said, "You have a message you want me to deliver?" And the President of the United States said he wanted me to tell you two things. First of all, that he loves you, and second of all that he's proud of you.
(08:46)
So let me echo the President. Let me echo a grateful nation. You guys just keep on doing what you're doing. We love you. We're proud of you, and we're going to support you every single step of the way. God bless you, Marines. Semper Fidelis.
MUSIC (09:07):
Hey, Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list.
(09:09)
And the Statue of Liberty started shaking her fist.
(09:09)
And the eagle will fly and it's gonna be hell.
(09:17)
When you hear Mother Freedom start ringing her bell.
(09:24)
And it'll feel like the whole wide world is raining down on you.
(09:28)
AW, brought to you courtesy of the red, white, and blue.
(09:33)
Oh, of the red, white-
