Next month, a parade is expected to roll through the nation’s capital for around four hours. Its purpose will be to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, but it also falls on President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, June 14.
According to an Associated Press report, planning documents show that the parade will include more than 6,600 soldiers and at least 150 vehicles, 50 helicopters and seven bands. These documents were dated this Tuesday and Wednesday and the AP said they have not been publicly released.
Army spokesman Steve Warren confirmed that no final decisions has been made as of Thursday. The AP noted that a celebration for the Army milestone at the National Mall has been in the works for some time.
“We want to make it into an event that the entire nation can celebrate with us,” said Col. Dave Butler, another Army spokesperson. “We want Americans to know their Army and their soldiers. A parade might become part of that, and we think that will be an excellent addition to what we already have planned.”
While the parade plans have not been finalized yet, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also “acknowledged in April that the administration reached out to the city about holding a parade on June 14,” the AP said. Bowser said the parade is expected to stretch from Arlington, Va., where the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery are located, across the Potomac River and into Washington.
Both USA Today and the AP reported that the event is expected to conclude with fireworks. USA Today said the finale will also include the Army’s Golden Knights parachute team landing and then presenting a “flag to the POTUS on behalf of the Army,” and that Trump will preside over a ceremony enlisting and re-enlisting soldiers.
“One of the documents raises concerns about some limitations, which include where troops would be housed and ‘significant concerns regarding security requirements’ as equipment flows into the city,” said the AP’s report. “It says the biggest unknown so far is which units would be participating.”
The outlet also noted that Trump has “long wanted” to put on a large military parade. It said that he proposed having a parade after seeing a two-hour procession along the Champs-Elysees in France on Bastille Day in 2017, during his first term in office. He wanted a similar parade along Pennsylvania Avenue. However, plans for that parade – including its estimated $92 million price tag – were faced with backlash.
"I have severe concerns about the cost, diversion of resources, and effect on readiness of a large-scale parade seemingly conceived only to please the whims of the President,” said U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) in a 2018 statement. “The best way to honor our men and women in uniform is by supplying the training, equipment, and support they need to succeed on the battlefield and get them back home safely.”
Ultimately, plans for that parade were called off due to costs and logistical issues, said the AP. At the time, city officials raised objections about tanks and other armored vehicles tearing up roadways.
Trump’s big military plans may not have come to fruition, but his administration did shell out significant amounts for Independence Day celebrations during his first term. A report from the Government Accountability Office found that “estimated costs for the events held in 2016, 2017, and 2018 ranged from $6 million to $7 million annually,” including costs for concerts and fireworks.
“In 2019, with the addition of the Salute to America event, the Department of Defense (DoD) and Executive Office of the President undertook additional efforts,” said the GAO. “Estimated costs for the 2019 events on the National Mall increased to more than $13 million. This increase was attributable to the cost for DoD to transport several vehicles to the National Mall, the production and execution of the Salute to America event, and the additional security involved because the President attended the event.”
In the wake of the Trump administration’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) making headlines for sweeping government cuts, including the layoffs of many employees, costs for the upcoming military parade are estimated to come out to tens of millions of dollars. The AP said these costs would include “the movement of military vehicles, equipment, aircraft and troops from across the country to Washington and the need to feed and house thousands of service members.”
“We are going to start celebrating our victories again!” said Trump in a Thursday Truth Social post that was not related to the potential parade. In the post, the president said renaming May 8 as Victory Day for World War II and November 11 as Victory Day for World War I.