With Trump pick, J.D. Vance is first post-9/11 vet on major-party ticket

By Nikki Wentling | Military Times

J.D. Vance, named Monday as the Republican vice presidential running mate of former President Donald Trump, is known as many things: a bestselling author, a Republican senator, a former venture capitalist, a leading voice of conservatism, a onetime Trump critic – and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.

Vance, 39, is the first millennial on a major-party ticket, and a prominent veterans group heralded him Monday as the first among the post-9/11 generation of veterans to appear on a presidential ballot.

“JD Vance may be the first of our generation of veterans to be on a major-party presidential ticket, but he most certainly won’t be the last,” said Allison Jaslow, an Iraq War veteran and the CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, or IAVA. “The post-9/11 generation of veterans is stepping up to lead, just when America needs us most.”

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