Vance joined the Marine Corps in 2003 under the name James D. Hamel and served a four-year enlistment as a combat correspondent. He deployed to Iraq with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing from August 2005 to February 2006. His last duty station was Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina.

Republican Ohio Senator JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, has also criticized Walz over his record. Vance - a Marine who served in Iraq - has claimed that Walz purposely dodged going to Iraq, calling his move into politics as “stolen valor garbage.”