The current administration is planning a military parade, possibly on November 11[sup]th[/sup] (the hundredth anniversary of the end of the WtEAWs). This will be similar to those images you might have seen from the Soviet Union, tanks and rocket launchers rolling past Red Square, with jet fighters drawing lines of colored smoke overhead. Of course it will cost a lot of money to accomplish.
How does this idea make you feel?
I’m pretty uncomfortable with it. Out of curiosity, when was the last time we had a big military parade organized by the executive branch? I’ve seen local parades with military vehicles, and lots of air shows with military aircraft participating. But when was the last time the POTUS threw a big Jingo Party? VJ Day maybe?
I don’t see the point of it, but it’s not something I’m going to lose sleep over. Meh.
An expensive waste at best. Especially disgusting considering how unwilling Trump and the Republicans are to actually spend money on the soldiers for things like health care. The troops are just so many toy soldiers to them.
Won’t the mid-terms be over by then? Looking forward to it. 
Can’t have a 3rd world dictatorship without the military parade. Need to teach our troops how to goose step.
In 1991, to celebrate victory over Iraq in the Gulf War. At least so far Trump doesn’t appear to be insisting on giant portraits of himself being displayed during the parade like back in the USSR. :rolleyes:
To be honest, seeing tanks and rocket launchers on parade are not at all interesting. But the military bands and the precision drill teams are fun to watch.
Don should just throw a ticker tape parade for himself and give the troops the day off.
France, of all countries, has done this every Bastille day for, well, quite a long time. Not that this gives any kind of justification for the US doing one. It makes me a bit queasy, given that it is clearly just more of Trump’s disgusting self-aggrandizement, but like air shows displaying military aircraft, I’d rather see all this hardware polished up and doing stunts for the crowd, than actually being used to kill people.
So, another “meh”, but with reservations.
Yaaaay! Big parade! We’re finally coming of age! Just like Little Rocket Man!
How 'bout a small nuke explosion as a climax?!
Does the US actually have truck-mounted ICBMs? I mean, without a few of those gigantic penis substitutes, what’s even the point?
Anyway, to be fair, the Bastille day parade is a hoot, what with various military academies, each one with it’s own kind of funny-looking hat, firemen in chrome plated helmets, and so on.
Tell him the parade had to be cancelled because all the marchers suddenly developed bone spurs.
It’s an eye-rolling waste of money for the sake of jingoism but that’s pretty much the corporate mission statement out of this administration and the GOP.
Of the poll answers “meh” is about the closest. I don’t think it means much at all but it is a waste of time and money. And I feel sorry for those who have to participate. It will be a giant pain in the ass.
For some reason I remember a guy I was in initial training with many years ago who’s fantasy was to become president just so he could assemble the entire military in formation in the desert. His plan was to order “half left face” and make everyone do push-ups in cadence. I would rather see that.
I have a vision of somebody making Cadet Bone Spurs do twenty pushups, but then the viewfield of my mind’s eye widens to include the Chief Justice standing beside Mike Pence holding a Bible and suddenly it’s a lot less amusing.
I understand he’s going to organize them to be at all of the state capitals simultaneously.
A little disturbed but compared to most of the things out of Washington these days ----------------
In the interest of full disclosure I never was a fan of displays like this. From the 1991 one mentioned up-thread to Dukakis in a tank for the campaign, I like it better when the military is just left slightly distant from politics. Yeah, the POTUS is CinC and politics and the military have been linked since our founding; but its just not an image I think I enjoy watching.
What a colossal waste of money.
Why not discuss the “parade” in detail, determine the cost, then instead of a parade add that amount of money to veteran support programs?