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A major military parade to celebrate the US army’s 250th anniversary – which will also coincide with Donald Trump’s 79th birthday – could cost up to $45m and involve thousands of soldiers, hundreds of army vehicles and dozens of warplanes and battle tanks.
The 14 June parade in Washington DC will feature 6,600 soldiers, as well as 50 military aircraft and 150 vehicles, multiple US outlets reported, citing US army spokespeople.
Thousands of troops are set to march in formation through the capital, wearing uniforms representing every US conflict dating back to the revolutionary war, which began in 1775, to the civil war and the two world wars and the more recent conflicts in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.
More than two dozen M1 Abrams main battle tanks also will roll from the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, to the national mall, with their movements expected to be thunderous, a US official told Associated Press.
The army will place large metal plates at key points on the streets to better protect the pavement from the movements of the battle tanks, which weigh more than 60 tons and carry a crew of four.
Each separate war will have 60 troops in period costume, followed by 400 troops from that same unit in their regular battle dress uniforms.
About 5,000 of the participating service members will arrive a few days before the parade and be housed on unused floors of a General Services Administration building and an agriculture department building, an army spokesperson told the Washington Post.
Vehicles will arrive by rail and be trucked into the city, while participating aircraft will fly in.
The parade and celebration will probably cost between $25m and $45m, a White House official said. The news comes amid the Trump administration’s purge of the federal government, including slashing the Veterans Affairs (VA) department.
Trump first floated a military parade during his first term, but scrapped the idea due to the huge costs – with one estimate of a $92m price tag – and other logistical issues. Among those were objections from city officials who said including tanks and other heavy armored vehicles would tear up the roads.
