The military parade requested by President Donald Trump will take place in November on Veterans Day in Washington D.C., but to minimize damage to roads, it will not include tanks according to a memo from the Pentagon. Last month Trump asked the Pentagon to explore a parade in celebration of American troops, after the Republican president marveled at the Bastille Day military parade he attended in Paris last year. The memo added that the parade would focus on the contributions of U.S. military veterans throughout history, starting from the American Revolutionary War and have a “heavy air component at the end of the parade.” The parade will cost taxpayers up to $30 million, the White House budget chief has said. In 1991, tanks and thousands of troops paraded through Washington to celebrate the ousting of Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces from Kuwait in the Gulf War. Whether the president himself will participate in the event remains unclear. Critics denounce the parade as a unnecessary expenditure, especially when the Presidents administration is cutting back on social programs such as Medicare, Social Security and children’s health programs. Veterans are divided on President Trump’s desire for a military parade. Many believe it is a fitting tribute to the all-volunteer force, others worry it will be misinterpreted as a show of force.
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