JD Vance praises US troops stationed in UK for making it ‘possible for us to accomplish the president’s goals through negotiation’

"Here's a simple thing. We've got a beautiful country here. We've got a beautiful alliance," Vance said in his speech to troops with the 501st Combat Support Wing and the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron. "And I think every single one of you knows that for over 100 years, we have worked with our friends from the United Kingdom to achieve great victories. And if you look at the long sweep of history, every time something big happens for the world, every time a great victory is won for freedom and for peace and for prosperity, it is almost always the Brits and the Americans that do it together, and we win every single time we go to war together. You guys know that as well as anybody."

Vance said that it would be "impossible for me to list every single thing that has happened just from this single base over the past 100 years. From World War I to our operations against terrorists in Yemen, the history of this base, of its mission, of all of the things that we’ve done with our friends from the United Kingdom, it is a very, very proud tradition."

He said that his visit to the UK has involved meetings regarding shared security goals in Europe, including the end of the Ukraine-Russia war. "But as you all know, it is impossible to bring peace anywhere unless the bad guys are also worried that we’ve got a hell of a fine Air Force and a hell of a fine military to back up the peace to begin with."

"So what you guys do, even though you may not see it every single day, is you make it possible. You make it possible for us to accomplish the President’s goals through negotiation. You make it possible for us to go into a room and say, yes, we want peace. Yes, we want to work together. Yes, we’d like to bring an end to this terrible conflict."

He touted President Trump’s recent international peace wins, including in Africa, East Asia, and the Balkans, "and now in just a couple of days, with the president heading to Anchorage, Alaska to try to achieve an end to this terrible war in Russia and Ukraine, you guys make that possible."

He said that in the hour preceding his speech, "I had a call with about 30 European leaders. And over the past couple of days, I’ve met with a number of leaders across the UK, across political parties, across the generations. One of the great things about the UK’s special relationship with the United States is it cuts across political alliances. It cuts across political parties. It cuts across generations because we’ve been working together for literally centuries."

"So I just want to say from the President of the United States, who, again, I just spoke to, and he told me to give you this message, we're proud of you. We're grateful to you. We know that it's not always an easy job. We know there are often long hours, but I hope you know that the peace and the prosperity and the safety of your countrymen depend on you doing a good job, and we are damn proud of the job that you do every single day