What We Know About JD Vance's Time In The Military

In the run-up to the 2024 presidential election, a national Ipsos survey revealed 47% of Americans viewed military experience among their top two preferences for elected officials. This was good news for Donald Trump's chosen running mate, JD Vance, who joined the Marine Corps after high school in 2003 as a combat correspondent. After a dig at opponent Tim Walz's 24-year army record, his role earned Vance the nickname "Sergeant Scribbles" online. But who is Sergeant Scribbles, really? Though he saw no actual combat, his four years of military service warrant a closer look.

When Vance first enlisted, he had taken his stepfather's surname and was going by James. D Hamel. The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing stationed him in North Carolina before deploying him to Iraq. But as explained in his future bestseller "Hillbilly Elegy," he "was lucky to escape any real fighting." He later wrote in an article for The Lamp: "I left for Iraq in 2005, a young idealist committed to spreading democracy and liberalism to the backward nations of the world. I returned in 2006, skeptical of the war and the ideology that underpinned it." This doctrinal shift would go on to inform his future politics; on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he said: "I gotta be honest with you, I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another" (via Facebook).

Vance contributed several articles to the Marine Corps website, as well as to The Eagle and The Crescent — the publication of the I Marine Expeditionary Force. His work included pieces about Marine Corps traditions and profiles of senior-ranking officials. In a front-page splash from September 2005, he reported on a visit from the Corps' command officers, writing: "The two leaders' visit brought them to other Marine Corps installations throughout Al Anbar province, as they checked on their Marines fighting the War on Terror."

Years later, Vance gave an interview to the Force's tabloid, The Windsock, about the Yellow Ribbon Program, which helps veterans fund their higher education ventures (in his case, Yale Law School). He said: "This program is really one of the great things a Marine gets out of service to their country. Everybody needs to know because everybody can benefit from the program." Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, the Independent spoke with Cullen Tiernan, who served alongside Vance in the same role. Tiernan said Vance's "time writing about the Marine Corps was where he 'learned the art' of storytelling, which enabled him to tell his family story in his bestselling memoir." He spoke fondly of his friend but made it clear the pair disagree politically before adding: "That is not to say that I don't try to influence the man." It's probably just as well, as the controversial Vance certainly took his fighting spirit to the ballot box.