Trump Orders Large Washington Parade To Display US Military Strength

Donald Trump has asked the Pentagon to plan a grand parade of armed forces personnel in Washington to celebrate US military strength.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the President wants an elaborate parade this year with troops marching and tanks rolling, but no date has been selected.

She said Mr Trump wants the Pentagon to "explore a celebration" that will allow Americans to show appreciation for the military.

Pentagon spokesman Charlie Summers said officials are aware of the request and are "looking at options".

The US has not traditionally embraced showy displays of raw military power, such as North Korea's parading of ballistic missiles as a claim of international prestige and influence.

Russia, meanwhile, is known for its annual Victory Day parade through Moscow's Red Square.

US military members commonly participate in parades on July 4 and other holidays to mark appreciation and remembrance of military veterans, but these do not typically include major displays of military hardware.

Although US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has not commented publicly on the idea of a Washington military parade, the idea is not an obvious fit with his emphasis on focusing strictly, if not exclusively, on military activities that either improve the lethality of the armed forces or enhance their preparation for combat, or both.

It has been reported that the plan came about due to Mr Trump's admiration for the Bastille Day military parade he attended in Paris in July last year, which featured US forces personnel (pictured top).

The Post report said a January 18 meeting between the President, Mr Mattis and senior generals at the Pentagon marked a tipping point in his push for a parade, however. It quoted an unidentified military official as saying:

"The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France."

It was thus interpreted as a presidential order, the Post said, adding that the cost of shipping tanks and other military hardware to Washington could run into millions of dollars.

The Post also reported that the Pentagon would prefer to hold a parade on Veteran's Day in November, in part because it would coincide with the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. It would thus be less directly associated with the President and politics, the Post said.

It has long been conventional wisdom that the US does not need to boast of its military strength because it already is recognised as the leader of the NATO alliance and a model of military professionalism that countries across the globe seek to emulate.

Democratic Congressman Jim McGovern described the idea as an "absurd waste of money" from a President who "acts like a dictator":

John Kirby, a retired Navy rear admiral and former spokesman for the State Department and the Pentagon, said in September that a big military parade in Washington is a bad idea, adding:

"The United States doesn't need a parade down Pennsylvania or any other avenue to show our military strength. We do that every day in virtually every clime all over the world."

The last military parade to take place in the UK, meanwhile, was in 2014 as part of a memorial service for members of the Armed Forces who served in Afghanistan.

However, this was a quieter event than those to have taken place in France and Russia, featuring no military vehicles or weaponry.

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