Army plans for a potential parade on Trump’s birthday call for 6,600 soldiers, AP learns

WASHINGTON AP Detailed Army plans for a feasible military parade on President Donald Trump s birthday in June call for more than soldiers at least vehicles helicopters seven bands and possibly a couple thousand civilians The Associated Press has learned The planning documents obtained by the AP are dated April and and have not been publicly published They represent the Army s largest part current blueprint for its long-planned th anniversary festival on the National Mall and the newly added element a large military parade that Trump has long needed but is still being discussed The Army anniversary just happens to coincide with Trump s th birthday on June While the slides do not include any price estimates it would likely cost tens of millions of dollars to put on a parade of that size Costs would include the movement of military vehicles equipment aircraft and troops from across the country to Washington and the need to feed and house thousands of function members High costs halted Trump s push for a parade in his first term and the tanks and other heavy vehicles that are part of the Army s latest plans have raised concerns from city representatives about damage to roads Urged about plans for a parade Army spokesman Steve Warren announced Thursday that no final decisions have been made Col Dave Butler another Army spokesman added that the Army is excited about the plans for its anniversary We want to make it into an event that the entire nation can celebrate with us noted Butler We want Americans to know their Army and their soldiers A parade might become part of that and we think that will be an excellent addition to what we already have planned Others familiar with the documents who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans have not been finalized announced they represent the Army s plans as it prepares for any White House approval of the parade The White House did not without delay respond to a request for comment There has been no formal approval yet Changes to the plans have been made in up-to-date weeks and more are likely What would go into the foreseen Army parade Much of the equipment would have to be brought in by train or flown in Chosen equipment and troops were already going to be included in the Army s birthday celebration which has been in the works for more than a year The festival was set to involve an array of initiatives and displays on the National Mall including a fitness competition climbing wall armored vehicles Humvees helicopters and other equipment A parade however would increase the equipment and troops involved According to the plans as multiple as of the provision members would be marching in the parade while the remainder would be responsible for other tasks and assistance The Army s early festival plans did not include a parade but representatives authenticated last month that the Army had started discussions about adding One The plans say the parade would showcase the Army s years of operation and foresee bringing in soldiers from at least corps and divisions nationwide Those could include a Stryker battalion with two companies of Stryker vehicles a tank battalion and two companies of tanks an infantry battalion with Bradley vehicles Paladin artillery vehicles Howitzers and infantry vehicles There would be seven Army bands and a parachute jump by the Golden Knights And documents suggest that civilian participants would include historical vehicles and aircraft and two bands along with people from veterans groups military colleges and reenactor organizations According to the plan the parade would be classified as a national special precaution event and that request has been submitted by the National Park Amenity and is under review And it is expected that the evening parade would be followed by a concert and fireworks One of the documents raises concerns about chosen limitations which include where troops would be housed and notable concerns regarding prevention requirements as equipment flows into the city It says the biggest unknown so far is which units would be participating Trump has long yearned a big military parade In his first term he proposed having a parade after seeing one in France on Bastille Day in Trump revealed that after watching the two-hour procession along the famed Champs-Elysees that he demanded an even grander one on Pennsylvania Avenue That plan was ultimately dumped due to the huge costs with one estimate of a million price tag and other logistical issues Among those were objections from city agents who declared including tanks and other heavy armored vehicles would tear up the roads Trump commented in a social media post in that he was canceling the event over the costs and accused local politicians of price gouging This year as plans progressed for the Army to host its birthday festival in Washington talk about a parade began anew D C Mayor Muriel Bowser acknowledged in April that the administration reached out to the city about holding a parade on June that would stretch from Arlington Virginia where the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery are located across the Potomac River and into Washington Bowser at the time noted she didn t know if the event was being characterized as a military parade but added that tanks rolling through the city s streets would not be good If military tanks were used they should be accompanied with a large number of millions of dollars to repair the roads she reported In the Pentagon appeared to agree A memo from the defense secretary s staff announced plans for the parade at that time would include only wheeled vehicles and no tanks to minimize damage to local infrastructure