Trump is getting the military parade he wanted in his first term

Straits Times

5 days ago

US President Donald Trump will be getting a military parade on his birthday, which is also the Army's birthday parade. PHOTO: AFP
Trump is getting the military parade he wanted in his first term
WASHINGTON – In President Donald Trump's first term, the Pentagon opposed his desire for a military parade in Washington, wanting to keep the armed forces out of politics.
But in Mr Trump's second term, that guardrail has vanished. There will be a parade this year, and on the president's 79th birthday, no less.
The current plan involves a tremendous scene in the centre of Washington: 28 M1A1 Abrams tanks; 28 Stryker armored personnel carriers; more than 100 other vehicles; a World War II-era B-25 bomber; 6,700 soldiers; 50 helicopters; 34 horses; two mules; and a dog.
But critics say it is another example of how Mr Trump has politicised the military.
The Army estimates the cost at US$25 million (S$32.2 million) to US$45 million.
But it could be higher because the Army has promised to fix any city streets that the parade damages, plus the cost of cleanup and police are not yet part of the estimate.
While US$45 million is a tiny fraction of Mr Trump's proposed Pentagon budget of US$1.01 trillion for fiscal year 2026, it comes as the administration seeks to slash funding for education, health and public assistance.
'It's a lot of money,' the Army spokesperson Steve Warren acknowledged. 'But I think that amount of money is dwarfed by 250 years of service and sacrifice by America's Army.'
The Army is not calling the event a birthday parade for Mr Trump. It is the Army's birthday parade. The Continental Army was officially formed on June 14, 1775, so June 14 will mark 250 years.
That also happens to be Mr Trump's birthday.
There was no big parade in Washington back when the Army turned 200 in 1975, when Vietnam War scars were still raw.
While smaller commemorations were held at Army bases around the country, complete with dinner dances, barbershop quartets and cake cutting, few people were looking to glorify the military so soon after the Kent State shootings.
Besides, the country was gearing up for big bicentennial celebrations in 2026 .
If things were going to be similarly low-key this time around, Fort Myer, across the Potomac in Arlington, Virginia, might be an ideal location, 'where the Old Guard could march with some veterans,' said Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the leading Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, in a reference to the 3rd Infantry Regiment, the Army's oldest active duty infantry unit.
'But this is Trump,' Mr Reed added, speaking to reporters last week at the Defence Writers Group. 'It's consistent with so much of what he's doing.'
Army officials say the parade will cross in front of Mr Trump's viewing stand on Constitution Avenue, near the White House, on the evening of Saturday, June 14, part of a big bash on the National Mall.
There will be marching troops who will be housed in two government buildings, officials say. They will sleep on military cots and bring their own sleeping bags, a topic of much merriment on late-night television.
There will be Paladins, the huge self-propelled howitzers, and nods to vintage style. Army officials want to outfit some troops in uniforms from the wars of long ago, like the one in 1812 or the Spanish-American War.
For more than two years, the Army has been planning national, global and even interstellar aspects of the celebration – an Army astronaut on the International Space Station will be phoning in, Mr Warren said.
But those planned celebrations focused on festivals, a postal stamp, various fun runs, military bands and the like. At some point this year, Army officials said, a military parade in Washington appeared in the plans.
Still, officials say there are no plans at the moment to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Mr Trump, or to the Army, during the parade. One plan does, however, call for paratroopers from the Golden Knights, the Army parachute team, to land amid the festivities and hand Mr Trump a flag.
In 2017 during his first term, Mr Trump watched the Bastille Day parade in Paris with President Emmanuel Macron of France and returned home wanting his own.
But the Trump 1.0 Pentagon shut him down. Mr Jim Mattis, the defence secretary at the time, said he would 'rather swallow acid', according to 'Holding the Line', a book by Guy Snodgrass, Mr Mattis' former speechwriter.
'We're all aware in this country of the president's affection and respect for the military,' Mr Mattis said tersely when reporters asked about Mr Trump's wishes.
'We have been putting together some options. We will send them up to the White House for decision.'
General Paul J. Selva, then the vice-chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Mr Trump during a meeting at the Pentagon that military parades were 'what dictators do', according to 'The Divider', by Peter Baker, a New York Times reporter, and Ms Susan Glasser.
When Mr Mattis was gone, Mr Trump brought up the idea again.
Mr Mattis' successor, Mr Mark T. Esper, responded with an 'air parade' as part of July 4 celebrations in 2020, Pentagon officials said.
An array of fighter jets and other warplanes flew down the East Coast over cities that played roles in the American Revolution, including Boston, New York and Philadelphia.
Officials in Mr Trump's first Defence Department resisted his parade suggestion – it was never a direct order – because they viewed it as putting the military in the middle of politics, something the Pentagon historically has been loath to do.
But now Mr Trump has Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and military leaders who have been more willing to put his musings into action.
This 'raises the question, 'Is the US military celebrating Trump?'' said Dr Risa Brooks , an associate professor of political science at Marquette University.
'Having tanks rolling down streets of the capital doesn't look like something consistent with the tradition of a professional, highly capable military,' Prof Brooks said in an interview.
'It looks instead like a military that is politicised and turning inwardly, focusing on domestic oriented adversaries instead of external ones.'
There have been big American military parades in the past, but the last one was almost 35 years ago, to commemorate the end of the first Gulf War.
Military parades in the United States have traditionally followed the end of major conflicts, such as the Civil War and the two World Wars.
There were also military parades during three presidential inaugurations during the Cold War. And small-town festivities also sometimes commemorate the military with a few armored vehicles and troops.
'I don't actually see the problem with a military parade,' said Dr Kori Schake , a former defence official in the George W. Bush administration who directs foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Dr Schake said more Americans need to see the troops who serve the country.
'If seeing our fellow Americans in uniform encourages public knowledge and connection, or inspires volunteering, it would be beneficial,' she said.
At the end of the day, 'the military won't die on this hill even if they do not like it,' said Dr Peter Feaver , a political-science professor at Duke University who has studied the military for decades.
'Trump's 2.0 team is better at giving the president what he wants whether or not it is best in the long run.' NYTIMES
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