Here’s how much Trump’s military parade could cost

Trump is finally getting his military parade which is ostensibly to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US Army but also happens to fall on the same day as his 79th birthday. This has drawn outcries of wasteful spending when the White House has been slashing spending and firing employees across the federal government.

Officials have said that the week-long celebration concluding with the parade has been in the works for over a year. The celebration will take place on 14 June involving a procession with thousands of soldiers, military vehicles and aircraft along with other events including concerts and fireworks.

Peanuts compared to the value of doing it?

President Trump has long wanted to have a military parade in the nation’s capital but a previous attempt in November 2018 was cancelled due to the staggering cost.

President Trump told Kristen Welker during an interview for NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ earlier this month that the cost would be “peanuts compared to the value of doing it.”

The cost of the US Army’s 14 June celebration had been speculated at between $25 million and $45 million and on Thursday the military branch’s spokeswoman Lt. Col. Ruth Castro confirmed those numbers to NBC.

What will the parade include?

Castro also confirmed that the parade will feature 6,600 soldiers, along with 150 vehicles and 50 military aircraft. The parade will tell the history of the US Army from its conception as the Continental Army in 1775 to the modern day.

The display of military hardware will include vintage warplanes and modern Army helicopters as well as Abrams tanks, Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles and self-propelled howitzer cannons among other vehicles.

The parade will be the last act in a week-long celebration. But it is just the first of the year-long celebration that is planned in the lead-up to celebrating the 250th anniversary of our nation declaring its independence from the British Empire.

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