Hundreds of soldiers based in Georgia will participate this Saturday in the military parade promoted by President Donald Trump, a massive commemoration of the U.S. Army in Washington that is drawing a mixture of praise and criticism.
From Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield near Georgia’s coast, about 500 soldiers assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division will join the procession. Fort Benning near Columbus is sending 20 members of its Maneuver Center of Excellence Band.
In all, the parade will feature 6,600 soldiers in uniforms from the past and present, 150 tanks and other vehicles, 50 aircraft, 34 horses, two mules and a dog. It is part of a daylong celebration at the National Mall that will also include a Golden Knights parachute demonstration, a fireworks display and musical performances.
Headquartered at Fort Eisenhower in Augusta, seven members of U.S. Army Cyber Command will participate in — and help document — a fitness competition that will be part of the events that day.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Citing the flyovers planned for the parade, the Federal Aviation Administration said it would issue temporary flight restrictions for the Washington, D.C., area for safety and security. Ronald Reagan Washington Airport in Washington has warned such restrictions could affect its flights Saturday.
Though the parade is scheduled for the same day as Trump’s 79th birthday, it is officially meant to honor the 250th anniversary of the Army’s establishment.
The parade and related activities Saturday are estimated to cost between $25 million and $45 million, according to the Army. The expenditure comes as the Trump administration is seeking to slash spending across the government, including for education, public health and domestic and foreign aid, while increasing overall military spending.
Trump said the parade’s cost is worth it.
“Peanuts compared to the value of doing it,” Trump told NBC News in May. “We have the greatest missiles in the world. We have the greatest submarines in the world. We have the greatest army tanks in the world. We have the greatest weapons in the world. And we’re going to celebrate it.”
Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, the 3rd Infantry Division’s commanding general, will lead his soldiers participating in the commemoration.
“Generations of soldiers have honorably served and sacrificed in the dirt and the dark without any hope of recognition only for the satisfaction of having the privilege of serving our nation,” Norrie said. “Our division is incredibly honored and proud to be a part of that storied legacy and participate in the Army’s 250th birthday parade, which highlights all and celebrates the greatest army in the world.”
Trump desired such a parade during his first term, but the idea met with resistance in the Defense Department, The New York Times reported. Gen. Paul J. Selva, then the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Trump during a meeting at the Pentagon that military parades were “what dictators do,” according to “The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021,” by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser.
Joshua Zeitz, an historian and author who is also a contributing editor for Politico Magazine, said in an interview with NPR this month that previous presidents “used military regalia to celebrate or mark other moments. There are obviously military ceremonies that happen, for instance, at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day. There’s a military presence at inaugurations.”
“But that’s very different from what we’re doing here,” Zeitz told NPR. “This is something that you would expect to see in countries like North Korea or the old Soviet Union or today’s Russia, where, you know, strongmen effectively paraded their military and its equipment in an effort to intimidate perceived enemies abroad and at home.”
The Indivisible Project, a liberal nonprofit opposing Trump’s agenda, has joined a coalition of other organizations in announcing a “day of defiance” featuring a series of “No Kings” events Saturday in the Atlanta area, elsewhere in Georgia and across the nation. More than 100 such events have been planned so far.
“On June 14 — Flag Day — Donald Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday. A spectacle meant to look like strength. But real power isn’t staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else,” the No Kings organizers say on their website. “On June 14th, we’re showing up everywhere he isn’t — to say no thrones, no crowns, no kings.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
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