Vice President JD Vance told military academy graduates Friday that President Donald Trump is working to ensure that U.S. armed forces are only sent into harm's way with clear goals rather than the "undefined missions" and "open-ended conflicts" of the past.
Vance, in a commencement address at the U.S. Naval Academy, said Trump's approach "doesn't mean that we ignore threats but means that we approach them with discipline and if we send you to war, we do it with a very specific set of goals in mind."
Vance said the alternative under Trump will be quicker-hit military actions, pointing to the bombing that Trump recently ordered -- then paused to uncertain effect-- against Houthis rebels in Yemen .
"That's how miliary power should be used," he said. "Decisively with a clear objective."
Vance, in his first remarks as vice president to one of the military service academies, also spoke briefly about his own military service as he addressed the 1,049 graduates in Annapolis' class of 2025, most of them newly commissioned ensigns and second lieutenants.