The Army on Friday confirmed there will be a military parade on President Donald Trump's birthday in June, as part of the celebrations surrounding the service's 250th birthday.
Plans for the parade call for about 6,600 soldiers to march from Arlington, Virginia, to the National Mall, along with 150 vehicles and 50 helicopters. Until recently, the Army's birthday festival plans did not include a massive parade, which officials said will cost tens of millions of dollars.
But Trump has long wanted a military parade, and discussions with the Pentagon about having one in conjunction with the birthday festival began less than two months ago.
The Army 250th birthday happens to coincide with Trump's 79th birthday on June 14. When asked about the parade Thursday, the White House did not respond, and Army officials said no decision had been made. Officials on Friday afternoon said there has now been a formal decision to proceed with the parade but that there is still no specific cost estimate.
In comments to Fox News Digital, White House officials confirmed a commemorative parade would take place and said it would be one of the first events to kick off a yearlong celebration of the nation's 250th anniversary.
In a statement Friday, Army spokesman Steve Warren also acknowledged a final decision had been made, saying the Army's 250th birthday celebration will include "a spectacular fireworks display, a parade, and a day-long festival on the National Mall." He said that given the significance of the Army's birthday, they are looking at options "to make the celebration even bigger, with more capability demonstrations, additional displays of equipment, and more engagement with the community."
Army planning documents, obtained this week by The Associated Press and dated April 29 and April 30, said the parade will include soldiers from at least 11 corps and divisions nationwide. They said it would involve a Stryker battalion with two companies of Stryker vehicles, a tank battalion and two tank companies, an infantry battalion with Bradley vehicles, Paladin artillery vehicles, Howitzers and infantry vehicles.
The plans noted that although the parade will begin near the Pentagon, the heavy, tracked vehicles — which would include the Strykers — would be stationed near the Lincoln Memorial and join the procession there, so they will not go over the bridge.
City officials, including Democrat D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, acknowledged in April that the administration reached out to the city about holding a parade on June 14. At the time, she said that tanks rolling through the city's streets "would not be good."
"If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads," she said.
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