Melania Trump and Usha Vance are making an early holiday visit with North Carolina military families

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) – Melania Trump and Usha Vance took their first trip together Wednesday, spending time with North Carolina service members and their families to show appreciation for their service and sacrifice with the holidays approaching.

The wives of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, a former Marine, visited with military personnel at Camp Lejeune, the largest Marine Corps base on the East Coast, and Marine Corps Air Station New River, which is in the same area.

Heading toward Camp Lejeune, the motorcade passed a house with a rooster running around the front yard.

Trump and Vance then stopped by Lejeune High School, where 10 Marines out front saluted as they arrived.

The pair then greeted students and sat at tables where small groups were working on different projects. Among the topics were artificial intelligence and researching social media. One report being presented explored electronic media’s effects on sleep and adolescent wellbeing. Another explored social media’s impact on youth body image and esteem.

Trump engaged in conversation about the projects, while Vance could mostly be seen nodding along.

The next stop was a gymnasium for the assembling of care packages to family services members stationed away from home. Jerky sticks were among the snacks tucked into each package.

The day was to include remarks from both women to a gathering of service members and their families.

The first lady planned to use her speech to recognize the Marine Corps’ 250 years of service, express gratitude to Marines and military families, and highlight the importance of families in supporting the U.S. military.

She also was expected to highlight another issue she has been focusing on lately: the rapid evolution of technology, including artificial intelligence.

Both women left the morning after attending the first formal White House dinner of Trump’s second administration, a black-tie affair planned by the first lady to honor Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia.

They have appeared together at other public events, most notably at the inauguration of their husbands at the Capitol in January.

Other joint appearances came at a White House event celebrating military mothers and a luncheon for Senate spouses, both in May; opening night of “Les Misérables” at the Kennedy Center in June; and the president’s signing last week of an executive order to help foster children. The order was in support of the first lady’s Fostering the Future program, which is part of her child-focused Be Best initiative.

Melania Trump has centered her work around children, starting with the launch of Be Best during her husband’s first term to focus on their welfare, online safety and opioid abuse.

Last month, she announced that eight children displaced by the Russia-Ukraine war had been reunited with their families following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Earlier this year, the first lady helped lobby Congress to pass legislation imposing federal penalties for online sexual exploitation, often targeting young girls. Her husband signed the bill into law in May.

Usha Vance, a former lawyer, launched a “Summer Reading Challenge” to encourage students in kindergarten through eighth grade to read 12 books during the school break. Certificates and prizes were promised to those who completed the challenge.

The second lady often accompanies the vice president on his trips and sometimes brings along their three young children.