A massive military parade in D.C. will celebrate the Army's 250th birthday on June 14, which also falls on President Donald Trump's 79th birthday. On Memorial Day, Trump spoke about the upcoming parade, saying, "We're going to have a great time; we are going to have a great celebration."
Expect big crowds, traffic and travel disruptions, fireworks, an airshow and displays of troops and tanks rolling down D.C. streets.
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WATCH HEREWhat will attendees see at the Army parade in DC?
Since it was announced, the parade has grown in scope and participation.
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SIGN UP The evening parade will involve thousands of troops marching in formation, wearing uniforms representing every U.S. conflict dating back to the Revolutionary War, which began in 1775. Each war will be represented by 60 troops in period costume, followed by 400 troops from that same unit in their modern-day battle dress uniforms.
More than 100 military vehicles are expected to be involved, including M1A2/Abrams tanks; Black Hawk, Apache and Chinook helicopters, Bradley fighting vehicles and more, according to a handout from the Army.
In late May, we started to get a look at some of them, as huge tanks were loaded onto trains north of Austin, Texas, to travel to D.C. Dozens of huge trucks and howitzers also were expected to travel to D.C. from Texas.
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The parade will be followed by a parachute jump by the Army's Golden Knights, plus a concert and fireworks.
Trump is expected to speak, delivering "remarks celebrating 250 Years of the U.S. Army’s exceptional service, significant achievements, and enduring legacy," according to America250's website.
What's the schedule of events for the military parade on Saturday, June 14?
Here was the schedule provided by the Army, as of last week:
🕤 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. — Army Fitness Competition and Awards on the National Mall
🕚 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. — Army Birthday Festival on the National Mall, open to the public
🕡 6:30 p.m. — Army 250th Birthday Parade
🕗 About 7:30/8 p.m. to 9:30/10 p.m. — Concert and fireworks on the National Mall
Guest entry for the fitness competition and festival is set to begin at 8 a.m., while guest entry for the parade is expected to start at 2 p.m., News4 previously learned.
The festival and parade are free and open to the public. No tickets are being issued.
Where is the military parade happening?
The parade is expected to roll along Constitution Avenue, along the north side of the National Mall, from 23rd Street NW to 15th Street NW.
There will be no bleachers, so attendees should be prepared for standing room only.
What about security for the event?
The event is classified as a National Special Security Event (NSSE), "an event of national or international significance deemed by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be a potential target for terrorism or other criminal activity," D.C. police said on their website.
The Secret Service explains: "Designating an event an NSSE allows for significant resources from the federal government, as well as state and local partners, to be used to ensure a robust security plan is in place.
As for the security perimeter, there will be three entry points for the public. A map shared by D.C. police shows locations for those entry points will be:
- About a block west of the White House Ellipse, on the north side of Constitution Avenue
- On the National Mall at 14th Street NW, between Constitution and Independence avenues NW
- On the National Mall at 9th Street NW, between Constitution and Independence avenues NW
The first two checkpoints will be for access to the parade. The third checkpoint will provide access to the festival.
D.C. police have published a list of prohibited items, including backpacks, bags and soft-sided coolers larger than 18"x13"x7"); bicycles; balloons; drones; folding chairs; glass, and ammunition or weapons of any kind.
“The Secret Service, along with our state, local, and federal partners, have been working around-the-clock to create a secure environment for all who want to participate in Saturday’s events,” said U.S. Secret Service Washington Field Office Special Agent in Charge Matt McCool in a release Monday. “Our number one goal is to ensure the safety and security of our protectees and the public with an extensive security plan in place this weekend.”
What will be closed in DC during the military parade and festival?
Airspace:
The Federal Aviation Administration will stop all arrivals and departures at Reagan National Airport “during the peak of the celebration,” they said in a statement last week.
A ground stop between 6:30 and 9 p.m. is expected, with effects on about 116 flights, a senior government official told NBC News. The hours are preliminary and subject to change, the official said.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority warned on the airport's website that flights could be suspended.
“To accommodate aircraft flyovers along the parade route, followed by a fireworks display, the Federal Aviation Administration is expected to suspend airline operations at DCA – affecting scheduled flights,” the message said. "Customers with flight reservations for the evening of June 14 should check the status of their flights directly with their airline."
Road closures around the airport are possible, officials said. Fireworks viewing at the airport is “strongly discouraged.”
Streets and parking:
A long list of road closures and parking restrictions will go into effect soon, with some lasting until Monday morning on June 16.
You can see a complete list of road closures on MPD's website here, as well as areas that will be posted as "Emergency - No Parking," or check the graphic below:
(See a larger version of this image here.)
One Metro station entrance/exit:
The northwest entrance/exit of the Smithsonian Metro station will be closed, according to the Army. Metro passengers traveling to or from that station should use the southwest entrance/exit on Independence Avenue SW instead.
Waterways:
Waterways around the District will be closed off as part of the security plan for the parade, News4 has reported. The preliminary plan is to block off access to the Potomac River from Hains Point all the way up to the Key Bridge.
The Coast Guard sent a memo saying in part: "This action is being taken to protect government officials, mitigate potential terrorist acts and incidents, and enhance public and maritime safety and security immediately before, during, and after this event."
Streets and parking:
We'll share specific road closures and security perimeters when they're available.
Will the tanks damage DC streets during the military parade?
Among other vehicles, more than two dozen M1 Abrams main battle tanks are expected to roll through D.C., a U.S. official told the Associated Press last month. Each of those tanks can weigh 60 tons or more.
To protect D.C. streets from those heavy vehicles, the Army Corps of Engineers is putting down large metal plates on parts of the parade route. Installations began overnight into June 5, and will continue until the day of the parade on June 14.
The metal plates are seen as the best way to protect the streets. Each plate weighs hundreds of pounds and will be placed at points along the parade route where the tanks will turn — and where their metal and rubber-shoed tracking that helps them move can do the most damage, the official told the Associated Press.
"Now the steel plating is the standard industry steel plating for construction zones, and it just provides an area for the track to come up onto and turn," Lt. Col. Mark Pollak, a member of the Army Corps of Engineers, told News4 last week.
"When a track turns, the inside track has to slow down, and it almost gets dragged sideways," Pollak said. The metal plates will be focused in 13 locations along the route where vehicles will need to turn.
The large tracked vehicles are the more modern Army vehicles in the parade, Pollak said. They include the M1 Abrams tank that most people most often think of, and smaller vehicles such as the M2 Bradleys, Paladin Howitzers and M109s.
Concerns over the tanks' weight and what they would do to D.C.‘s streets ultimately kept them from being used for a parade during Trump’s first term.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has gone out of her way to stay on Trump's good side, has not disguised her discomfort at the prospect of armored vehicles chewing up the downtown asphalt. She was still openly wary, despite assurances from the military that it will cover the costs of all repairs, and the plan for the metal plates, the Associated Press reported.
“I think that there has been time and attention paid to how to move this heavy equipment in a way that doesn’t hurt [roads],” Bowser said. "I remain concerned about it. If they are rendered unusable, we have to make them usable and then go seek our money from the feds.”
How much will the military parade cost?
The parade comes with a price tag of an estimated $25 million to $45 million, a spokeswoman for the Army told CNBC. U.S. military leaders told NBC News that the figure includes the cost of repairing D.C. streets after the fanfare, which could cost upwards of $16 million.
Some D.C. natives and tourists told News4 that while they’re happy about the parade, they're concerned about the damage to streets and the dollar figure.
“I think morale in the military is pretty low, so having a parade is a good thing,” one man said. “Because it coincides with the birthday, that's not really a big problem, but the military parade is a good idea. But again, the cost is a little bit too excessive.”
Trump defended the cause, saying in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" last month that it was “peanuts compared to the value of doing it. We have the greatest missiles and army tanks in the world, and we're going to celebrate.”
This story includes reporting by Ashraf Khalil, Tara Copp and Michelle L. Price of the Associated Press.
