# US Military Parade **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 7, 2018, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340 "2018-02-07T01:14:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/81 "2018-02-08T01:48:08Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > 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. Meh is about the closest for me too. That’s assuming they succeed in shifting it to Veteran’s Day. Moving it after the election cycle and packaging it as a special event for the 100th Anniversary of the end of WWI minimizes my concerns about continued politicization of the military. It also minimizes the suck of standing around in the sun in DC in mid-July. > [@](#): > > And I feel sorry for those who have to participate. It will be a giant pain in the ass. QFT Hours of rehearsals and prep for each hour of the actual event. > [@](#): > > For some reason I remember a guy I was in initial training with many years ago who’s fantasy was I knew that guy! Well or someone with the same fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![UncaStuart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncastuart/32/404_2.png) [@UncaStuart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaStuart)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/82 "2018-02-08T02:23:27Z")
One difference in existing parades and this one, I expect, is that in those we do now the military is marching for the spectators that line the route. There is no reviewing stand where the grand poobah gets saluted, a la Nork and the USSR. If anything is saluted, it is the flag. Here’s one retired Major General’s [response](https://twitter.com/votevets/status/961034722775203840/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstory%2F2018%2F2%2F7%2F1739486%2F-Retired-Major-General-torches-wannabe-banana-republic-strongman-Trump-for-military-parade-plan): “For someone who just declared that it was ‘treasonous’ to not applaud him, and for someone who has, in the past, admired the tactics of everyone from Saddam Hussein to Vladmir Putin, it is clear that a military parade isn’t about saluting the military—it is about making a display of the military saluting him.” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/83 "2018-02-08T02:50:57Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > So that means they are a fascist country now? Shades of the past. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/84 "2018-02-08T02:54:05Z")
Right now, on CNN, Jack Kingston is arguing _for_ the parade. He wants to remind [del]Trump that he’s willing to kiss his ass[/del] the world about the military might of the US. ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/85 "2018-02-08T02:54:23Z")
How can 45 be in the reviewing stand accepting salutes from the hardware rolling past and, at the same time, riding in the forefront of the parade, accepting wild cheers of adulation from the worshiping (_gag_) masses along the route? Solve THAT one, logistics team!\* \*Answer: 2 parades! ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/86 "2018-02-08T03:23:57Z")
I must admit, I am puzzled. The US does military fly pasts during sporting events, what’s wrong with a parade in the national capital on a holiday expressly for military rememberance? ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/87 "2018-02-08T03:28:10Z")
In the national guard I participated in a governors day parade every year. I had no idea that my presence was really to oppress the masses, inspire fascism, and to waste money. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/88 "2018-02-08T03:30:56Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > I must admit, I am puzzled. The US does military fly pasts during sporting events, what’s wrong with a parade in the national capital on a holiday expressly for military rememberance? The parade is for Trump to be seen being saluted by the passing soldiers and to display the might of the US military. Much like North Korea, Russia and China have done/are doing. The fly-bys have two purposes. Advertise the military (as a career/patriotic choice) and give the pilots part of their required monthly airtime. You’re not moving hundreds of heavy vehicles who knows how far and hundreds if not thousands of men (plus attendant equipment) to stroke the ego of the President. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/89 "2018-02-08T04:01:11Z")
I will just drop this quote in here, > [@The Trump Administration: A Clusterfuck in the Making](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/16491): > > I like Ike’s opinion on that: > > [Trump Wants Pentagon To Stage Military Parade Down Pennsylvania Avenue : The Two-Way : NPR](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/07/583903933/trump-reportedly-wants-pentagon-to-stage-military-parade-down-pennsylvania-ave) > > > [@](#): > > > > Beschloss points to the 1950s, when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev presided over large military parades showing off the latest in Soviet military might. Beschloss says some in the White House approached Eisenhower, himself a decorated military general, suggesting the U.S. do the same, to show off American might. > > > > “Eisenhower said absolutely not, we are the pre-eminent power on Earth,” Beschloss says, recalling Eisenhower’s response. **“For us to try to imitate what the Soviets are doing in Red Square would make us look weak.”** ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/90 "2018-02-08T04:22:33Z")
Maybe Mexico will pay for it. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/91 "2018-02-08T04:26:30Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > I must admit, I am puzzled. The US does military fly pasts during sporting events, what’s wrong with a parade in the national capital on a holiday expressly for military rememberance? I don’t particularly like the jets flying over sporting events either. But there are a couple orders of magnitude between two F15s flying over the ballpark and a column of tanks rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue while the President juts out his chin and waits for salutes. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/92 "2018-02-08T04:33:36Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > In the national guard I participated in a governors day parade every year. I had no idea that my presence was really to oppress the masses, inspire fascism, and to waste money. What form did your participation take? Were you part of a small ceremonial unit sandwiched between the high school marching band and the convertible carrying Miss Jefferson County, or was the parade devoted entirely to the National Guard waving around their guns and vehicles? Was it intended to show neighboring states how powerful your National Guard is? Did the governor order it because some other state rolled out a more impressive National Guard? ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/93 "2018-02-08T04:52:38Z")
C’mon, the US doesn’t do military parades; it does carrier strike groups, and we send them out as a clear diplomatic message. The proposed parade is none of the three- the message is neither diplomatic nor clear. I can’t help but think that this is just political posturing. Trump looks good to himself; it looks good to his supporters, and the people who are behind Trump will be able to consider anyone who doesn’t support it to be un-American. Beyond that, why are we bringing troops onto the Mall, or down Pennsylvania Avenue? The District is laid out with the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac, so that the military is symbolically separate from the political process. Again, this whole thing seems to be splitting behavior. A lot of Trump’s detractors are offended. I’m sure that a lot of his supporters won’t see the big deal and will wonder what the problem is with the detractors. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/94 "2018-02-08T05:03:54Z")
> [@cornflakes](#): > > Beyond that, why are we bringing troops onto the Mall, or down Pennsylvania Avenue? The District is laid out with the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac, so that the military is symbolically separate from the political process. Again, this whole thing seems to be splitting behavior. A lot of Trump’s detractors are offended. \*\* I’m sure that a lot of his supporters won’t see the big deal and will wonder what the problem is with the detractors.\*\* Wait 'til you see what a 72 ton tank does to city streets. Then imagine a whole bunch of them along with self-propelled artillery and armored vehicles and missile launchers all tearing the streets apart. Let him explain _that._ ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/95 "2018-02-08T05:15:10Z")
The Pentagon wants to do it on November 11, in honor of the 100th anniversary of World War I Armistice. I hope it snows. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/96 "2018-02-08T05:17:08Z")
Thinking about it, the streets near the mall all seemed under construction when I visited at Christmas. I’m not sure if we can get tanks down Pennsylvania Avenue right now. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/97 "2018-02-08T05:20:00Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > The parade is for Trump to be seen being saluted by the passing soldiers and to display the might of the US military. Much like North Korea, Russia and China have done/are doing. > > The fly-bys have two purposes. Advertise the military (as a career/patriotic choice) and give the pilots part of their required monthly airtime. > > You’re not moving hundreds of heavy vehicles who knows how far and hundreds if not thousands of men (plus attendant equipment) to stroke the ego of the President. And the French do it. And the Italians. And the Spanish. Plus the salute is to the President/King in hisrole as Head of State. Not to him personally. You think that those sorties of aircraft for various sporting events don’t cost money? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/98 "2018-02-08T05:31:49Z")
And will Il Trumpo wear a uniform bedecked in medals? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/99 "2018-02-08T05:32:37Z")
> [@UncaStuart](#): > > One difference in existing parades and this one, I expect, is that in those we do now the military is marching for the spectators that line the route. There is no reviewing stand where the grand poobah gets saluted, a la Nork and the USSR. If anything is saluted, it is the flag. The King of Spain gets saluted as Head of the Armed Forces, but he also spends most of the parade holding the salute (joke says that the air force flyovers go in the middle to give his arm a break). Trump’s hand might get stuck to his hair if he ever tried to do that. The parades specifically don’t include any vehicle heavier than a Jeep. No armored vehicles, the largest thing that can be shot is rifles. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340/100 "2018-02-08T05:32:54Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > And the French do it. And the Italians. And the Spanish. Plus the salute is to the President/King in hisrole as Head of State. **Not to him personally. \*\* > \*\* > You think that those sorties of aircraft for various sporting events don’t cost money?** Trump won’t understand that. Remember, he said it was treasonous that the Democrats didn’t clap for him at the SOTU. Like I said, the pilots have to fly anyways. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-military-parade/808340.md?page=6)