Vance at the Naval Academy: 'No More Undefined Missions. No More Open-Ended Conflicts.' (May 23, 2025)

Vice President JD Vance told the Naval Academy’s newest officers that the age of forever wars is over. “The Trump Administration has reversed course. No more undefined missions. No more open-ended conflicts,” Vance said at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis on May 23, 2025, according to the transcript published by American Rhetoric [1].

“We ought to be cautious in deciding to throw a punch, but when we throw a punch, we throw a punch hard, and we do it decisively, and that’s exactly what we may ask you to do,” Vance told the class of 2025 [1].

The video above shows Vance at the Naval Academy commencement on May 23, 2025. Quotes are from American Rhetoric, the Associated Press and the American Presidency Project [1][2][3][4].

”Almost Impossibly Hard”

Vance said Trump’s trip to the Gulf the week before marked a turning point. “But I actually think the most significant part of that trip is that it signified the end of a decades-long approach in foreign policy that I think was a break from the precedent set by our Founding Fathers,” he said [1].

“We had a long experiment in our foreign policy that traded national defense and the maintenance of our alliances for nation building and meddling in foreign countries’ affairs, even when those foreign countries had very little to do with core American interests,” Vance said [1].

“How hard could it be to build a few democracies in the Middle East? Well, almost impossibly hard, it turns out, and unbelievably costly,” he said [1].

“And it wasn’t our politicians who bore the consequences of such a profound miscalculation. It was the American people to the tune of trillions of dollars,” Vance said [1].

Vance knows the cost firsthand. “The Ohio native enlisted in the Marine Corps after high school and served four years, doing a tour in Iraq and working as a military journalist,” the AP reported [2].

”A Grand Total of 20 Days”

Vance pointed to the Biden administration’s $230 million pier in Gaza, which he said “worked for a grand total of 20 days while injuring over 60 American service members in the construction and maintenance of that pier.” [1]

“Our leaders abandoned clearly stated strategic goals for lofty, often incoherent abstractions,” Vance said [1].

”Throw a Punch Hard”

“Now, this doesn’t mean that we ignore threats. But it means that we approach them with discipline and that when we send you to war, we do it with a very specific set of goals in mind,” Vance said [1].

He pointed to the strikes Trump ordered on the Houthis in Yemen, the AP reported [2]. “That’s how military power should be used: decisively with a clear objective,” Vance said [1].

“With the Trump Administration, our adversaries now know: When the United States sets a red line, it will be enforced,” he said [1].

“But the job that we have taken on is to never misuse that sacrifice or never ask you to do something without a clear mission and a clear path home,” Vance said [1].

”That’s Not How It Works Out”

The former enlisted Marine had advice for the new officers. “I got chewed out more times than I can remember because I assumed that I could say whatever I wanted to, so long as I said, ‘with all due respect’ before it. That’s not how it works out. You learn that the hard way,” he said [1].

“But importantly, you are not just following orders. More often than not, you will be giving them,” Vance said [1].

”Not a Happy Day”

Vance looked ahead to Memorial Day. “And Memorial Day is not for those who served and came home. It is for those who served and didn’t,” he said [1].

“Every Memorial Day, I think about a graduate of this institution, Major Megan McClung,” Vance said. “She was bright, tough, and incredibly dedicated to her job.” [1]

“She was the first female Marine officer to be killed in the U.S.-led war in Iraq and the first female Naval Academy graduate killed in action,” the AP reported [2].

”They Fought Like Hell”

“It began with John Paul Jones. And the Founders of this country asked the United States Navy to take on the most powerful Navy on Earth, and we won,” Vance said [1].

“But when the time came, they raised the military; they raised the Navy; and they fought like hell,” he said [1].

“I know today I speak for a grateful nation when I say we are rooting for you, Naval Academy Class of ‘25. We are proud of you and we depend on you. Congratulations, Godspeed, and do great work,” Vance said [1].

By the Numbers

1,049: graduates in the class of 2025, per the AP [2].
$230 million: the cost of the Gaza pier, per Vance [1].
20 days: how long the pier worked, per Vance [1].
60+: service members injured on the pier, per Vance [1].

What Happened Next

Vance spoke at Arlington. Three days later, on Memorial Day, Vance spoke at Arlington National Cemetery. “This is a sacred place, an eternal resting spot for our Nation’s sons and daughters,” he said. “To them, we owe everything. And today, in the peace they bequeathed us, we honor them.” [3]

The punch came in June. On June 21, 2025, Trump announced U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites. “Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror,” Trump said [4].

For Trump at West Point the next day, see HYGO News’ page on May 24, 2025. For Trump at Arlington on Memorial Day, see the page on May 26, 2025.