Marine Veteran Accuses JD Vance of ‘Betraying’ Service Members Over Characterization of Iran War

A Marine veteran has accused Vice President JD Vance of “betraying Marines” after he refused to describe the ongoing conflict in Iran as a “war.”

Joslin Joseph, a Marine veteran who served in Iraq, wrote in an op-ed for The Hill on Wednesday that by making those statements, Vance had done “the worst thing that a veteran can do—throw his fellow service members under the bus.”

“To insist that it is not an actual war is a stab in the back, not just to the men and women who have been engaged in combat for the last six plus months, but to veterans in general,” Joseph wrote.

Vance, a former Marine of his own right, said Sept. 4 in the White House press briefing room that he would not categorize the conflict in Iran, which started on Feb. 28 and recently exceeded the six-month mark, as war.

“I wouldn’t call it a war,” Vance said. “Right now, there is no active shooting.”

Military.com reached out to the White House for comment.

Trump administration officials have previously labeled the ongoing U.S. military operations as a “skirmish” or conflict, which some critics have claimed as intentional to avoid congressional approval justifying military action abroad.

President Donald Trump recently called the operation in the Middle East “small potatoes” and “not a big thing.”

Vance’s Background in the Marines

Vance enlisted in the Corps as a combat correspondent, or 4341 military occupational specialty. He served four years, from 2003 to 2007, and during that time was deployed to Iraq for six months.

Vance earned the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and some conventional honors awarded during the Global War on Terror.

“When I joined the Marine Corps, I did so in part because I wasn’t ready for adulthood. I didn’t know how to balance a checkbook, much less how to complete the financial aid forms for college,” Vance wrote in his 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy.

Joseph said that previously, he had believed Vance’s military service would mean he “would be there for active service members” and veterans in the country. But he said he instead was disappointed by Vance’s rhetoric.

“With hundreds injured and thousands more who are sure to deal with the aftermath of such a stressful experience, it would be nice if the one guy who should understand them actually stood up for them instead of turning against them,” Joseph wrote.

The conflict in Iran shows no signs of slowing down. Last week, the U.S. military said it hit three Iranian oil tankers after accusing Iran of targeting its warship. The exchange of fire broke off what had been a month of relative calm.

On Monday, state-run media in Tehran said it hit a U.S. vessel that was trying to enter an area that Iran says is restricted in the Strait of Hormuz. A U.S. spokesperson called the claim “a total lie.”

On Tuesday, the U.S. military said it destroyed five Iranian oil tankers in response to Iran’s attacks.