'This celebration belongs to you:' VP Vance tells service members during America 250 speech at NAS Oceana

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Vice President JD Vance visited Naval Air Station Oceana on Wednesday to celebrate America's 250th anniversary.

The visit is meant to highlight "the Trump administration's efforts to support American warfighters and veterans," according to a press release sent to News 3.

Before Vance took the stage, Rep. Jen Kiggans and Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins delivered remarks.

Watch: Kiggans celebrates troops at NAS Oceana ahead of VP Vance speech

"The pride the patriotism that we should all have no matter what side of the aisle, what political persuasion you prescribe to, we are on the verge of celebrating 250 great years of our United States, and to be a part of that celebration we wanted to include you, we chose you all, to be able to come to start the celebration and to say 'thank you,'" Kiggans said.

After Kiggans spoke, the veterans affairs secretary delivered remarks to the crowd at Naval Air Station Oceana.

"We're celebrating the greatest military in the world, we're celebrating the greatest Navy in the world, if you don't believe it, just ask folks that have to face us," Collins said.

Collins expressed gratitude for the service members, thanking them for "projecting peace." He went on to add that the Trump administration is working to make sure veterans are well taken care of after they've completed their service.

Watch more from America 250 coverage: Yorktown museum showcases rare Declaration of Independence copy

After taking the stage, Vance immediately joked about his plans to keep his speech non-partisan. He suggested that he could have made fun of former President Joe Biden's tenure in office.

The vice president went on to praise the service members at Naval Air Station Oceana and the surrounding military community in Hampton Roads. Specifically, Vance shouted out Carrier Air Wing 8 for their 11-month deployment, which saw service members supporting "Operation Epic Fury" against Iran.

The ongoing negotiations with Iran were touted by Vance, who then criticized the media's coverage of this development. The vice president said President Donald Trump has differentiated himself from previous administrations in his foreign policy. He added that the Trump administration has been negotiating from a position of strength.

“I think that you deserve to have a clearly defined objective, I think you deserve to have a president of the United States who believes in you and gives you the weapons to win. And I believe that you have a presidential leadership today that will never ask you to go to war unless he’s telling you why your going to war,” Vance remarked.

Vance went on to praise the efforts of both Kiggans and Collins, saying they have been "rockstars" for service members.

More America 250 coverage: Newport News' 140-year shipbuilding legacy

The vice president then shifted the focus of his speech to America's upcoming semiquincentennial anniversary, saying these celebrations wouldn't be happening without the U.S. military.

"I want to say as we get ready to celebrate 250 years of great American history, I want you all to know that that celebration belongs to you, as much as it belongs to anybody in the United States of America. For 250 years, it is people like you, who have put on the uniform of the United States of America and made sure that our Constitution actually has meaning," Vance said.

Trump visited Naval Station Norfolk in October of last year to celebrate the Navy's 250th birthday alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who would later make an appearance at Naval Station Norfolk in May to welcome back the USS Gerald R. Ford after a record-breaking deployment.

Back in October, Trump said his administration will work towards increasing funding for the Navy and its assets. He said money will go towards shipbuilding and revitalizing shipyards. Trump also said he plans to give raises to sailors and service members.

Watch previous coverage: Trump touts Navy's strength, perseverance at 250th birthday celebration in Norfolk

"I'm supporting the across-the-board pay raises," Trump said. "We're going to be building lots of ships and doing a lot of things that you haven't seen happen for 35 years. We'll soon revitalize our once great shipyards with hundreds of billions of dollars in new investments."

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