After seeing the celebration of France’s military at last year’s a Bastille Day celebration, President Donald Trump decided that he wanted a big parade for America’s armed forces. While the move was panned as being logistically difficult and expensive, we now know there’s one thing this parade won’t have: tanks.
According to a report by The Guardian, a White House memo said that no tanks or tracked vehicles will take part in the planned parade. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ office memo planned the parade route to take place on a route from the White House to the Capitol Building on the streets of Washington D.C.
The parade is planned for Veterans’ Day in November but may be a little smaller than first thought. The budget is also estimated to be around $10-30 million.
Via The Guardian:
Trump praised the French display months later when he and Macron met in New York, saying: “We’re going to have to try and top it.”
Outdoing the French may be difficult without any tanks but Trump thinks the parade, which some lawmakers in both political parties have criticized, would boost the spirit of America.
“We have a great country and we should be celebrating our country,” he told Fox News in a recent interview.
This decision comes out of a concern that tanks will seriously damage any unprepared roads they may drive on. An M1 Abrams main battle tank weighs a little over 60 tons, so the concern is valid.
The White House has not released what the vehicular makeup of the parade, they have stated that it will include “a heavy air component” with aircraft spanning several decades if they’re available.
That should be a little easier on D.C.’s streets, long as no one has to emergency land on the 395.