What to Expect at the Army’s 250th Anniversary Parade

 

What to Expect at the Army’s 250th Anniversary Parade

 

By Junho Lee and John Ismay June 13, 2025

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/06/13/us/trump-military-parade.html

 

Saturday’s military parade in Washington will celebrate the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, but planning documents shared with The New York Times show a focus on President Trump, who turns 79 the same day.

 

Thousands of soldiers will march from the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., to Washington while heavy armored vehicles slowly make their way north from West Potomac Park.

 

The parade will officially kick off once the Army secretary, Daniel P. Driscoll, and chief of staff, Gen. Randy George, report to Mr. Trump in a small ceremony at his reviewing stand along Constitution Avenue.

 

There will be roughly 7,000 soldiers — some in replicas of Army uniforms from different eras, including the Revolutionary, Civil, Korean and Vietnam Wars, as well as both world wars.

 

Heavy armored vehicles from previous conflicts will be followed by those from the modern era, including 70-ton Abrams tanks, 30-ton Bradley fighting vehicles and 20-ton Strykers.

 

These vehicles will be staged in West Potomac Park because they could damage the Arlington Memorial Bridge and leak hazardous hydraulic fluid as they move. They could also break down before they reach their destination, according to Army planning documents, which is why the service will have heavy towing vehicles called wreckers at the beginning of the parade route on a nearby cross street.

 

But for all of this planning and expense, the parade route is remarkably short — running less than 1,600 yards down Constitution Avenue from 23rd Street until the soldiers pass the president’s reviewing stand.

 

Where Trump Will Sit

The president will sit in a 100-foot-wide reviewing stand constructed on the north side of Constitution Avenue. Mr. Trump will be joined by a number of special guests, including Army soldiers who have received the nation’s highest decoration for combat valor, the Medal of Honor.

 

At the end of the parade, the Golden Knights, the Army’s parachute team, will jump from the sky, land in the Ellipse, a park south of the White House, and present an American flag to the president on behalf of the Army.

 

Afterward, a country music concert is scheduled to begin nearby on the National Mall, followed by a fireworks show.

 

These last events may be in jeopardy as thunderstorms are forecast throughout the afternoon and early evening.

 

Military Equipment of the Past

The event will feature an array of historical equipment, vehicles and aircraft owned by private collectors, including Sherman tanks from World War II and UH-1 Huey helicopters from the Vietnam War. Vintage aircraft will fly overhead.

 

Military Equipment Still in Use

For more recent conflicts, the Army will be using its own uniforms, vehicles and aircraft. The service is bringing dozens of armored vehicles — like Abrams tanks, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and Strykers — and helicopters from bases around the country, from both its conventional and special operations components.

 

Representing the future Army, cadets from the United States Military Academy, the Virginia Military Institute, the Citadel and Texas A&M will march along with a number of civilians whom Mr. Trump will swear into the Army and current soldiers who will re-enlist after the parade.

 

Parade Preparations

Road closures began nearly a week in advance to build Mr. Trump’s reviewing stand, with tall black barricades erected along the parade route.

 

Thousands of soldiers are housed in these two federal buildings.

 

Thousands of Army soldiers have also begun moving into federal government office buildings in downtown Washington, where they will be sleeping on cots and showering in trailers. About 4,000 will sleep in the General Services Administration building and another 2,000 in office space for the Agriculture Department.

 

To protect the roadway, the Army is placing large, inch-thick steel plates on the asphalt. Even so, the National Park Service estimates the heavy military vehicles will cause $3 million to $16 million in damage to public roads along the route.

 

Commercial flights at Ronald Reagan National Airport, just across the Potomac River in Virginia, will be paused for several hours on Saturday. That will allow for flyovers by military aircraft launching from Joint Base Andrews, nine miles away in Maryland, and the privately owned historical aircraft taking off from nearby civilian airports.

 

According to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, roads over a 2.5-square-mile area in downtown Washington between the Capitol and the Potomac River will be closed to traffic until Monday morning. The Secret Service will search members of the public going inside the parade area on Saturday.

 

On the water, the Tidal Basin and the Potomac River between the Theodore Roosevelt and 14th Street Bridges will be closed all day Saturday as well.