(The Epoch Times)—About 6,600 U.S. Army soldiers are set to march through the streets of Washington this afternoon, in a parade commemorating 250 years of service.
These soldiers will wear uniforms and present equipment reflecting the distinct conflicts and periods of the Army’s history, starting with the Revolutionary War and including World War II, Vietnam, and continuing up to the present day.
The parade is also set to feature around 150 military vehicles, including dozens of tanks and other heavy armored vehicles. There are also planned flyovers with helicopters and World War II-era planes.
“For two and a half centuries, the men and women of America’s army have dominated our enemies and protected our freedom at home,” President Donald Trump said in a June 5 video statement promoting the event.
“This parade salutes our soldiers’ remarkable strength and unbeatable spirit. You won’t want to miss it.”
The Army will begin the day with a birthday wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery at 8:15 a.m. E.T.
Starting at 9:30 a.m., the Army will host a fitness competition and festival on the National Mall.
The parade itself is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the intersection of 23rd St. NW and Constitution Avenue and continue east on Constitution Avenue before ending on 15th St. NW.
Following the parade, the Army has planned a concert and fireworks display on the National Mall.
In an event permit submitted to the National Park Service this week, event planners estimated as many as 200,000 people could participate in the Saturday festivities.
While the parade is billed as a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Army’s formation on June 14, 1775, the event also coincides with Flag Day and President Trump’s 79th birthday.
The president sought a military parade during his first term but faced criticisms. In 2018, a plan emerged to commemorate Veterans Day and the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I with a military parade, but the idea fell through as cost estimates for the event rose as high as $92 million.
The Army has estimated its Saturday event could cost $25 million to $45 million.
While not as costly as the scrapped 2018 plan, this event still has its skeptics.
At a House Armed Services Committee hearing this month, Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) asked Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, “If Congress wrote the Army a $45 million blank check, do you think you could find a better way to spend that money than a parade?”
Driscoll replied that the parade represents a unique opportunity to market the Army and boost recruiting for years to come.
“I believe very specifically that telling that story will directly lead to a recruiting boom that will fill up our pipeline for the coming years,” Driscoll said.
Other critics have questioned the timing of this particular parade and accused the president of using the parade as a self-aggrandizing display.
“Trump is throwing himself a $30 million birthday parade just to stroke his own ego,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), an Army combat veteran, said in a June 5 X post.
This parade comes amid a growing protest movement that began last week in opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations targeting illegal immigrants in Los Angeles. In recent days, these protests have begun to spread across the country.
A coalition of activist groups calling itself “No Kings” has scheduled a series of protests across the country on Saturday to counterprogram the parade.
The parade has also garnered pushback for the potential disruptions it may cause for those living and traveling through Washington.
Local government officials have raised concerns about the potential for the Army’s heavy armored vehicles to damage the local roadways along the parade route.
The Army has taken precautions to limit the risk of road damage, including installing metal plates along pivot points in the parade route. The service has also vowed it will cover the cost of any damage. Still, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has expressed concerns about the disruptions that road damage may cause.
“These are, for the most part, local streets. And if they’re rendered unusable, we have to make them usable and then go seek our money from the feds,” Bowser said at a May 29 press conference.
Likewise, the flyovers are set to disrupt planned air traffic around Washington. The Federal Aviation Administration plans to suspend flight operations for Reagan Washington National Airport between 6 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Saturday.
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