MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. (AP) — Melania Trump and Usha Vance took their first trip together on Wednesday, visiting Marine Corps members and their relatives in North Carolina to mark the approach of Thanksgiving and salute military families, which the first lady called “the quiet strength of our nation.”

The wives of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, a former Marine, visited schools at Camp Lejeune, the largest Marine Corps base on the East Coast, before delivering remarks to some 1,600 uniformed, cheering Marines and their families at Marine Corps Air Station New River.

“Please know that our nation is thinking of you, praying for you and deeply grateful for your service,” Trump said of all military service members stationed far from home during the holidays, speaking from a stage flanked by parked tanks and helicopters.

Trump stressed the growing importance of artificial intelligence to the military, noting that “technology is changing the art of war.”

“Predictably, AI will alter war more profoundly than any technology since nuclear weapons,” she said, also noting that “we are moving from human operators to human overseers fast.”

Trump and Vance both saluted the Marines for the branch’s recent 250th anniversary, and the second lady said that “military families are truly a model for our country and for my own family.”

Brigadier General Ralph J. Rizzo Jr, said of the joint visit: “Those moments matter because they show our families their service and sacrifices are seen and appreciated.”

Trump and Vance’s speeches followed them discussing AI with high schoolers and helping younger children make turkeys out of cardstock — surrounded by Elmer’s glue and glue sticks.

They watched an advanced placement research class from the Lejeune High “Devilpups,” recalling the Marine Corps’ “Devil Dog” nickname, and had discussions about technological development.

Trump and Vance sat with four tables of students with laptops. They listened to a student presentation on electronic media affecting sleep and adolescent wellbeing, as well as a study on social media addiction and its impact on young people’s esteem and body image.

The students demonstrated how they used AI to generate videos as part of their presentation. The first lady asked one group how they used AI in school, and nodded along as they chatted. The students also described rules that kept them from using AI to improperly complete assignments.

Trump and Vance later visited a gymnasium, where the school was assembling 2,000 care packages for service members stationed abroad — filled with goodies including jerky sticks. The first lady told the crowd there that she and the president always think of U.S. service members but “especially during the holidays.”