The big military parade planned for June 14 – the Army’s 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump‘s 79th birthday – will feature dozens of tanks rumbling through the streets of Washington, warplanes buzzing overhead and 7,500 soldiers housed in government office buildings downtown, according to Army planning documents.
USA TODAY had an exclusive look at the latest planning documents that detail the elaborate choreography required for a massive military parade and unofficial birthday party with few, if any, precedents. On June 8, 1991, thousands of troops along with tanks and other armored vehicles, paraded through Washington. That was to honor their victory in the Gulf War. Then-President George H.W. Bush’s birthday was four days later.
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Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy had thousands of troops at their inaugurations. Eisenhower’s boasted tanks and jeeps and warplanes.
The military, an institution with a loyalty to the Constitution and no political party, is balancing new political challenges this time. Is the parade a celebration of the Army’s storied heritage, or an homage to Trump and the political movement he leads? Or both? Army officials say that they have long planned a major celebration for their milestone anniversary.
Democratic lawmakers, though, say Trump has coopted the parade for his own political purposes.
“This is Trump. This is all about his ego and making everything about him,” Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said May 14. “The only thing he’d be disappointed about is that he couldn’t fly his plane over the parade.”
Trump is in talks this week to receive a gift of a Boeing 747 from Qatar – raising concerns from some lawmakers over corruption.
Trump has maintained the parade is all about celebrating “the greatest military in the world.”
Its cost is “peanuts compared to the value of doing it,” he told Kristen Welker in a May 4 NBC “Meet the Press” interview.
Vince Haley, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, said in a statement Trump is planning “an historic celebration of the Army’s 250th birthday.” The statement does not mention his birthday.
“As one of the first events of the year-long celebration of our 250th anniversary, this commemorative parade will be a fitting tribute to the service, sacrifice, and selflessness of the brave men and women who have worn the uniform and devoted their lives to defending the greatest experiment in liberty known to man,” Haley said.
A $30 million price tag, rising to close to $45 million
The latest price tag for the parade: $30 million, a figure expected to rise to perhaps $45 million.
Soldiers and their equipment will begin to arrive in the nation’s capital from across the country in the days leading up to the parade. They will be housed in the Department of Agriculture building and a former government warehouse owned by the General Service Administration on Seventh Street.
Their chow will consist of two MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) and one hot meal per day. They’ll also receive $50 per day in extra pay.
More: They love a parade: President Trump and US Army to celebrate their June 14 birthdays
Bring your sleeping bags, said a Defense Department official who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Their shower schedule will be set by “mayors” appointed to oversee housing at the buildings, the official said.
Struggling to find uniforms from the War of 1812
The parade will salute the Army’s heritage from the Revolutionary War to the present, with soldiers in period uniforms. Some time periods have proved harder to find period dress from than others – the Army is struggling to outfit soldiers in uniforms from the War of 1812 and the Spanish-American War, according to the defense official.
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There will be 120 vehicles, including 24 Abrams tanks, 24 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, an armored vehicle similar in design but smaller than a tank and four Paladins, massive self-propelled howitzer cannons.
Vintage warplanes, such as the World War II-era B-17 bomber and P-51 Mustang fighter, are scheduled to fly over the National Mall, the iconic open space in Washington that stretches from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial. They’ll be followed later by newer aircraft, including 50 Apache, Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters.
The parade will cross in front of Trump’s viewing stand on Constitution Avenue just south of the White House at around 6 p.m. Trump is expected to preside over the enlistment and reenlistment of soldiers at the conclusion of the parade. It will finish with a finale of fireworks at dusk.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tanks, cannons, 7,500 soldier beds: The Army parade on Trump’s birthday
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