On February 6, the Washington Post broke the story that Donald Trump has been pressuring military leaders to organize a military parade in Washington, D.C. There are three reasons why this is a serious mistake.
1) The Cost To put on a military parade of the magnitude Trump purports to want would cost the taxpayers millions, if not tens of millions, of dollars in training, maintenance, and transport dollars alone, not to mention the extra fuel required for driving tanks down Pennsylvania Avenue and flying fighter jets over Washington. How does this expense make sense when the government can't fund itself?
2) The Logistics Washington streets and bridges cannot support the weight of seventy-ton tanks. Such a parade would do serious damage to D.C.'s already strained infrastructure. Moreover, organizing and orchestrating a parade would snarl D.C. traffic for days, not only day-of, but also in the days prior as manpower and materiel were put into place. This would profoundly affect the lives of D.C. residents, many of whom are trying to get to work to help the government stay funded.
3) The Readiness Implication Every tank and plane used in this parade is a tank and plane a soldier or airman is not using for training purposes. The lost training days damage our military readiness, and the excessive hours added onto the equipment on parade are an unnecessary use of precious resources.
America doesn't need to prove its military strength as if it were ruled by a tinpot dictator - such a display would only trivialize our strength. But more importantly, neither the Democratic nor the Republican party should support such an egregious waste of tax dollars and manpower. This is not a partisan issue. This is an American issue.
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