Donald Trump’s Vice Presidential pick, JD Vance, is the first military veteran on a presidential ticket since John McCain in 2008. But he could soon be joined by one of four veterans that Kamala Harris’ campaign is reviewing for her vice presidential spot.
If she picks one, it would guarantee a military veteran would be in the White House in 2025, even if just as the VP, regardless of who wins in November. If that were to happen, they would be the first veteran inside the White House since George W. Bush was president. And, with Vance’s service as a former corporal, if Harris picks Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, she would guarantee that the next vice president would be a former enlisted member, the first in the White House since Al Gore.
Vance served a four-year enlistment in the Marines from 2003 to 2007 as a combat correspondent, deploying to Iraq for six months
The names being thrown around in political circles for Harris are Gov. Walz, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, current Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Michigan Sen. Gary Peters. Peters and Buttigieg were officers in the Navy Reserve, Kelly famously retired as an astronaut and Walz is a former Command Sergeant Major who retired from the National Guard after 24 years in uniform.
Harris is also reviewing a handful of other candidates who are not veterans. Her final decision may be announced at any point before the Democratic National Convention, which begins Aug. 19.
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly
Mark Kelly is a Senator from Arizona who served as a Navy pilot and as an astronaut from 1986 to 2011.
Kelly was elected to the Senate in 2020 and currently serves in the seat once held by former Republican Sen. John McCain, who was the last veteran to run for President in 2008.
Kelly graduated with a degree in marine engineering and nautical science from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 1996 and served as a Navy pilot until 2011, according to his service record, logging over 5,000 flight hours in more than 50 different aircraft. As a naval aviator, he deployed aboard the USS Midway and flew 39 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm. In 1996, Kelly was selected to become an astronaut in the same NASA class as his identical twin brother, Scott Kelly. He first traveled to space as pilot of STS-108 in December 2001 to the International Space Station. During Kelly’s four trips to space, he spent more than 50 days there and traveled over 20 million miles. He retired in 2011 as a Navy captain after commanding Space Shuttle Endeavour’s final flight.
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His awards and decorations include two Defense Superior Service Medals, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, four Air Medals, and two National Defense Service Medals. before retiring as a Captain, according to his campaign website.
He currently serves as the chairman for the Senate Armed Services’ Airland subcommittee. He previously sponsored legislation that would require that the VA make data on staffing and quality of care like patient wait times, effectiveness of care, and vacancy information publicly available online.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz
Tim Walz is governor of Minnesota and served in the Nebraska and Minnesota National Guards from 1981 to 2005.
Walz first served in the Nebraska National Guard as an infantry sergeant and an administrative specialist. In 1996, Walz transferred to the Minnesota National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery where he served as a cannon crewmember and a field artillery NCO. He held multiple positions in field artillery including firing battery chief, operations sergeant, first sergeant, and finished his career serving as the battalion’s command sergeant major.
In his final assignment, Walz served as the command sergeant major for the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion. Though he held the rank of command sergeant major in that final post, he retired in 2005 as a master sergeant “for benefit purposes because he did not complete additional coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy,” said Army Lt. Col. Kristen Augé, spokesperson for the Minnesota National Guard.
During his service he earned a Global War on Terrorism medal although it’s unclear if it was a service or expeditionary award, according to Army Lt. Col. Kristen Augé, a spokesperson for the Minnesota National Guard. His awards and decorations also include the Army Commendation Medal with M Device, Army Achievement Medals with one oakleaf cluster and several other awards typical of his rank, position and time in service.
Before he was Minnesota Governor, Walz served as a Congressman in the House of Representatives. During his time in office, Walz sponsored several veteran-related bills which became law. One measure created new pilot programs and partnerships for more veteran mental health resources and required an annual audit of the VA’s mental health care and suicide prevention programs. Another measure directed the VA to report its progress on an initiative for reducing in-person disability examinations.
In May 2023, Walz signed legislation into law aimed at making Minnesota “the fourth state in the country to declare an end to veteran homelessness statewide.” The measure included funds to construct dozens of permanent housing rental units and for the Homeless Veteran Registry, a tool that identifies homeless veterans and connects them with relevant services.
The 2023 legislation also included millions for the state National Guard’s health and fitness program with $17 million for the construction of an Army Combat Fitness Test Field House.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
Pete Buttigieg is currently the U.S. Secretary for Transportation and served in the Navy Reserve from 2009 to 2017.
Buttigieg joined the Navy after graduating from college and was commissioned through Officer Training Command in Newport, Rhode Island in September 2009. He served as an intelligence officer with the Navy Reserve Joint Intelligence Operation Center at Fort Sheridan, Illinois for a majority of his career. Buttigieg was elected Mayor of South Bend, Indiana in 2011 at age 29 but remained in the Navy Reserve. He was called up for a deployment to Afghanistan in 2014. According to his service record from the Navy, between March and September, he worked with the Afghanistan Threat Finance Cell in Kabul, which targeted the financing of insurgent networks.
He separated as a lieutenant in November 2017.
If picked, Buttigieg would join Vance as the first veterans of the post-9/11 wars on a Presidential ticket.
During a brief bid for the Democratic Presidential nominee in 2020, Buttigieg’s record elicited criticism over whether he qualified as a combat veteran. Buttigieg said that while in Kabul he made 119 trips where he mostly drove in Kabul between bases with some road trips between Kabul and Bagram.
In a 2019 interview with Task & Purpose, Buttigieg said: “Some say you are a combat veteran if you have a Combat Action Ribbon (I do not). Others say deploying to a combat zone makes you one. I simply consider myself a veteran, and I’ll leave it to others to decide what else to call it.”
In 2019, ahead of the U.S. official withdrawal from Afghanistan, Buttigieg told Task & Purpose that it was time for a new Authorization for Use of Military Force. The last one, which the U.S. has relied on for operations in the Middle East for the past two decades, was passed by Congress after September 11, 2001.
“I believe the time has come for Congress to repeal and replace that blank check on the use of force and ensure a robust debate on any future operations,” Buttigieg said in 2019. “We should never again send troops into conflict without a clear definition of their mission or understanding of what comes after.”
As Transportation Secretary, Buttigieg sent a letter to 10 CEOS of the largest U.S. airlines in April, urging them to improve public-facing information about military travel benefits and offer full refunds to service members and their families who are forced to cancel travel plans due to military directives.
His awards and decorations include the Joint Service Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
Sen. Gary Peters
Gary Peters is currently a Senator from Michigan and served in the Navy Reserve from 1993 to 2008.
Peters, the son of a WWII veteran, joined the Navy Reserve at 34. He earned the Seabee Combat Warfare Specialist designation and left as a Lieutenant Commander. After September 11th, Peters volunteered for drill status and served overseas with a reserve unit. He also earned a diploma from the U.S. Naval War College.
Axios also reported this week that Peters is a late-comer as a candidate to be Harris’ VP but is being looked at by her team. He was elected to the Senate in 2014 after serving as a congressman in the House of Representatives since 2008. In 2020, Peters sponsored legislation in the Senate that became law to improve accountability for the VA’s caregiver program. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs.
CLARIFICATION: 7/30/2024; An earlier version of this article stated that Gov. Tim Walz’s finished his National Guard career as a command sergeant major. Walz served as CSM but retired as a master sergeant because he did not complete additional necessary coursework.
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