Former Marine -- and current VP -- JD Vance will help Corps at Camp Pendleton celebrate 250 years

Erika I. Ritchie, The Orange County Register on Oct 16, 2025

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A few months after hiking with a Marine battalion along Camp Pendleton’s steep hills, Vice President JD Vance will hit the beach at the sprawling Southern California base to welcome amphibious vehicles and aircraft doing a beach landing demonstration in honor of the Marine Corps’ 250th anniversary, according to White House officials.

On Saturday, Oct. 18, Vance, who is the first Marine to serve as vice president, will join Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan and Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Eric M. Smith for an event dubbed America’s Marines 250: From Sea to Shore – A Review of Amphibious Strength.

The visit comes amid a federal government shutdown that has had many military families worried about whether paychecks will continue to arrive, said Maggie Meza, executive director of the San Diego Chapter of the Blue Star Families, a national nonprofit that helps with services to address the challenges military families face.

On Monday, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said though the shutdown could be the longest ever seen, members of the military will receive their Oct. 15 paychecks because the Pentagon has identified about $8 billion in unused funding for research, development and such that can be redirected.

Saturday’s event is part of a yearlong celebration of the Marines’ anniversary year, kicked off by Smith in January. Since then, the Marines have held public events and celebrations across the country. Marines are rehearsing for Saturday’s training event on Wednesday and Friday.

The Camp Pendleton event on Saturday is the second of the larger events held; ultimately, the 250th birthday celebrations will conclude in Washington, D.C., at the Commandant’s Birthday Ball in November.

Vance, who served with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing as a combat correspondent and deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, is expected to deliver remarks, along with the other visiting military leaders.

Camp Pendleton has been the premier training ground for Marines since the base opened in the early 1940s. It bumps up against San Clemente to the north and Oceanside to the south and covers 125,000 acres, including 17.5 miles of shoreline — perfect for amphibious assault training. With the Defense Department’s pivot to preparations for potential future conflicts in the Indo-Pacific, Camp Pendleton’s location offers opportunities no other Marine base has, commanders say.

The region is home to 85% of the Defense Department’s airspace for training maneuvers and 67% of the Marine Corps’ live-fire training ranges.

“Camp Pendleton remains the cornerstone of training for the I Marine Expeditionary Force and our operating forces,” said Brig. Gen. Nick Brown, commander of Marine Corps Installations West, which includes Camp Pendleton. “It offers some of the finest amphibious ranges anywhere in the world — designed to sharpen warfighting skills and ensure our Marines and sailors are ready for any mission.”

“Our commitment to maintaining these top-tier training environments supports the Commandant’s vision and strengthens the readiness and deployability of our forces across the globe,” he added.

San Clemente Mayor Steve Knoblock is planning to attend Saturday’s event, calling his coastal community a “military town that loves their neighbors and sees the base as essential for the nation’s freedoms.”

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