At 250th Marine anniversary event here, VP Vance vies with comedian for best line

Vance greets Marines Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego J D Vance arrives Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Comedian Bryan Callen Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego J D Vance speaks Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Marines applaud Vance Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Helicopter flyby Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Rear bleachers Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Pete Hegseth speaks Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego John Rich performs Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Rare Trump cap sighted Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Second video screen Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Comedian Bryan Callen was a warmup act Saturday at Camp Pendleton s celebration of the U S Marine Corps th anniversary He praised President Trump for bringing peace to the Mideast for the first time since Moses had a parting of the techniques with Pharaoh But Callen couldn t hold a candle to the featured speaker Vice President J D Vance citing what he called the Schumer shutdown vowed to make sure Marines get paid As I reported the president just a couple days ago I commented Sir we have got to figure out how to pay these Marines ' And not just for their sake If we don t pay our enlisted Marines every bar in Southern California is going to go out of business and we don t want that he stated perhaps Marines and a scarce sailors sitting on plastic chairs near the base s Del Mar Beach The former four-year Marine returned to the theme later in his half-hour remarks He recalled the Philadelphia tavern where in the Marines were conceived before being authorized by the Continental Congress Vance called the Tun Tavern the very first bar in America that would come to regret serving United States Marines Self-described Secretary of War Pete Hegseth preceded Vance with an -minute talk echoing critiques of the Defense Department by previous speakers and his own address to military leaders he summoned in recent weeks to Quantico When other parts of the defense department needed to go woke the Marine Corps stood strong Hegseth stated When other parts of the department demanded to lower standards the Marine Corps stood strong One former Marine mentioned the th Marine anniversary officially Nov coincided with the great unshackling She lauded leadership this committed to the war-fighter this moment to tear down bureaucracy in favor of speed innovation and lethality Hegseth strongly denounced an element of wokeness As I look out at this crowd I see a lot of different types of faces Hegseth stated The truth is Your diversity is not your strength Never has been Your strength is in your unity of purpose He added It s in your shared mission It s in your oath to the Constitution You are set apart from civilians You are devil dogs leathernecks United States Marines With every Marine standing throughout his talk an organic move and not ordered the vice president took his own shot at DEI He began by recalling his Marine recruit training where on Sundays two lines would form for church services one Catholic and one Protestant When a drill instructor spotted a recruit standing alone he reported Hey what the hell are you doing The recruit mentioned he was an atheist Vance recalled The DI commanded him to get into the Catholic line That didn t work in the Biden administration Vance announced But now we recognize it is not our diversity that makes us stronger It is our common purpose It is our common mission It is the fact every person here bleeds Marine Corps green Vance displayed his knowledge of Marine tradition when he noted how those who train on the East Coast have the sand fleas while Pendleton Marines suffer hikes up hills with heavy backpacks I don t know which is worse he explained at an event filmed by the White House for a primetime special set for airing Nov On a serious note Vance mourned the loss Friday of a Marine pilot who he couldn t yet name when an AH- Z Viper helicopter with rd Marine Aircraft Wing crashed a limited dozen miles northwest of the Yuma Proving Ground In a four-hour event under cool but sunny skies Marines a few with kids in tow heard themselves praised by a series of speakers and retired military plus Marine Commandant Eric Smith and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan They were treated to live closed-circuit TV images of a mock amphibious attack on Red Beach specific miles up the coast And later they saw a world premiere of an official video marking the th anniversary narrated by Smith The ships the aircraft and the Marines you see are part of a living legacy stretching back years announced the campaign narrator Lt Col Joshua Benson citing ships including the USS Boxer and USS Comstock Marine landing ships and hovercraft flanked the audience The aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt staged warplanes which made ear-splitting fly-bys in repeated passes during and after the event A force that remains as ever the first to fight Benson added in sonorous tones Marines go where others can t The reconnaissance Marines move out disciplined deliberate light on their feet heavy with purpose And he previewed a phrase used by several others calling the Marines our national - - force Rear bleachers Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Entering early Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Pre-event treats Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Vance exits Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Vance cheered Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Filming TV special Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Packed venue Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Better view Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego SecDef Hegseth Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego SecNavy Phelan Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Gen Eric Smith Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Videotaping demo Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Finding a seat Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Offshore power Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Landing on beach Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego All aboard Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Ten hut for Marine Hymn Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Speaker applauded Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Aboard hovercraft Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Staying hydrated Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Family photo Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Marine Brass Band Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Aboard landing craft Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego OAN cameraman Photo by Ken Stone Times of San Diego Guitar-toting singer songwriter John Rich played a Johnny Cash tune and sang Tom Petty s I Won t Back Down before crooning extra stanzas of the the Marines Hymn with everyone getting up on their feet He ended with what he called the modern-day national anthem Lee Greenwood s God Bless the U S A aka Proud to Be an American Despite laws including the Hatch Act prohibiting political remarks at military events Vance commented Now I know we re here to talk about the Marine Corps but I have to get a little political because congressional Democrats seem to want to keep the leadership shut down even though it would mean a lot of you would not get your paycheck But Vance struck a bipartian tone while giving shout-outs to former Marine colleagues including one that he revealed would be considered far left Despite the craziness of our politics in the current era Vance declared the former Marine he served with remains one of my best friends and is a man I would trust with my life Vance didn t weigh into the back-and-forth over the shutdown of Interstate between Harbor Drive to Basilone Road from about a m Saturday until about p m causing a major inconvenience to Southland motorists who lost the main artery connecting south Orange County to San Diego County He and Hegseth also weren t available for media interviews The brief closure was attributed to the live ammunition discharges over the freeway Caltrans warned drivers to expect delays on I- and other routes throughout Southern California before during and after the event Guest rail function on the adjacent rail line was also disrupted for a time during the afternoon The exercise was criticized by Rep Mike Levin D-Carlsbad who revealed general safety and the reputation of the Marine Corps are far more pivotal than the political agendas of J D Vance or Pete Hegseth Unfortunately reports confirming that artillery will be fired over Interstate requiring full freeway and rail closures have caused understandable frustration throughout the surrounding public Levin noted These actions pose unnecessary safety risks and key disruptions for residents businesses and first responders Republican Rep Darrell Issa targeted the governor Gavin Newsom who never served a day in the military is overruling the best-trained and greater part experienced leaders of our Marine Corps and shutting down the main interstate highway in the San Diego region for no other reason that a spiteful publicity stunt the East County congressman noted in a announcement It s a disgusting abuse of power But not at all surprising he stated Governor stick to podcasting Let our military facility members and the men and women who have volunteered to defend our nation do their jobs San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond another Republican also blamed the freeway closure on Newsom The Marines at Camp Pendleton have been firing live rounds and training beneath I- for over years without closing the freeway There is zero reason for this sudden shutdown Desmond posted on X This isn t just an inconvenience it s going to cause physiological emergencies to be delayed workers to miss shifts and families to have their plans and events ruined It sure looks like Gavin Newsom is trying to use the U S Marine Corps th anniversary to create chaos and points political points If that s the event it s a petty stunt that will only hurt Southern California drivers and families he added Reported the Orange County Republican Party on X Newsom shut down the in the modern day to cause chaos around a Marine Corps celebration What a jerk According to Los Angeles Magazine the White House initially intended to shut down part of the Freeway between Los Angeles and San Diego but later dropped those plans after receiving complaints from local representatives and residents U S Marines authorities later revealed No community highways or transportation routes would be closed Personnel in Newsom s office declared they were notified Thursday that the U S Marine Corps authenticated their exercise would be conducted on its training ranges as it routinely does but not over the freeway That afternoon the federal regime also directed cancellation of train services which run parallel to the I- on Saturday between Orange County-San Diego County Late on Friday the state then received notice from event organizers asking for CalTrans signage to be posted along the I- freeway that would read Overhead fire in progress Also on Friday state executives near Camp Pendleton observed live munitions being fired near the freeway an apparent practice run Newsom s office feared extreme life safety threat and distraction to drivers including sudden unexpected and loud explosions and commented the closure decision comes at the recommendation of traffic safety experts at the California Highway Patrol