WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump might finally get his parade.
The U.S. Army is planning a big celebration to recognize not only the 250th anniversary of its founding, but also President Trump’s 79th birthday, both of which fall on June 14. That celebration will potentially bring tanks and hundreds of other military vehicles and aircraft onto and over the streets of the nation’s capital in June, according to three defense officials familiar with the planning.
During Trump’s first term, the president sought to have a big military parade, but the plans were shelved over cost and concerns that some of the military vehicles, particularly tracked vehicles like tanks, could significantly damage the streets of Washington, D.C. and incur a huge price tag for repairs. The estimate for the parade being planned now is “tens of millions of dollars,” according to two of the defense officials.
Trump didn’t forget and now is considering a military parade to honor both birthdays. Current plans call for more than 150 military vehicles and 50 aircraft to rumble through a parade route through Washington on June 10, the three defense officials said. That could include Army wheeled vehicles, like Humvees and trucks, and so-called tracked vehicles, like tanks, two of the officials said.
The aircraft will include CH-47 Chinook helicopters and UH 60 Black Hawk helicopters, two of the officials said. And the famed Golden Knights are expected to jump from above, land near the viewing stands, and deliver a flag to the VIPs, most likely Trump, two of the officials said.
The Army is celebrating its 250th birthday with a number of events, including a fireworks display, a festival and a parade, Army spokesman Steve Warren said in a statement. “Parade planning is actively underway, and we anticipate approximately 150 vehicles, 50 aircraft, and 6,600 Soldiers to highlight the Army’s 250 years of service to the nation,” Warren said.
The plan for the tanks is not yet final. One option under consideration is to put the tanks on trailers, which would mitigate some of the damage to the streets, but that could also impact the aesthetics of the parade, officials said. They also plan to have a separate staging area for the heavy vehicles so they do not have to cross any of D.C.’s bridges, two of the officials said.
The vehicles would roll down the streets of Washington in columns, the officials said, in a way that some critics of the planned parade in his first term compared to what is more typically seen in places like North Korea and Russia. For now, the plan is to have Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Stryker Armored Fighting Vehicles, the Army’s new Infantry Squad Vehicles and more, the officials said. All the Army vehicles would be drawn from the Army’s 10 divisions, brought in mostly via train from bases like Fort Bliss, Texas to Fort Drum, New York.
Each division will dedicate between 200 and 400 people to the parade, the officials said. Under the current plan, some of the troops would sleep in government buildings, including the Department of Agriculture and U.S. General Services Administration buildings, according to two of the defense officials.
Asked about the parade last month, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser confirmed that planning was in the early stages and that the Trump administration had reached out about it, but said she had not been directly involved yet.
The parade theme will include U.S. wars throughout the Army’s history and include soldiers marching in period uniforms, the officials explained.
The plans are still evolving but the current early estimate is the parade and static displays in D.C. will cost as much as $45 million, according to two of the defense officials, who said that could change as planning continues. The final estimates from inside the Army are not yet complete as plans for the parade have not yet been fully approved by the White House and the Army, two of the officials said.
Individual Army units will bear the ultimate cost of the parade, three of the officials said. In some cases, units would have to spend more than $1 million to participate. That could impact funds used for training, officials said. “Could the parade potentially impact training? Absolutely,” said one of the defense officials. “Will it impact training? That’s unclear.”
