The Pentagon has agreed to President Donald Trump’s request for a military parade to mark the annual Veterans Day but will not involve heavy vehicles like tanks to avoid doing damage to the streets of Washington, a media report said.
The Pentagon memo sent to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was issued on Thursday and outlined the initial guidance on how Trump’s sought after parade, scheduled for November 11 will look, the CNN report said early Saturday.
According to the memo, the parade will focus on the contributions of US veterans from the Revolutionary War upto today “with an emphasis on the price of freedom”.
It will “include wheeled vehicles only, no tanks”, the memo said, adding that “consideration must be given to minimise damage to local infrastructure”.
The parade will, however, involve “a heavy air component” with military aircraft flying overhead at the end of parade, including older aircraft “as available”, the memo said.
Also featured will be period uniforms from the Old Guard Fife and Drum, reports CNN.
The Joint Staff will be responsible for planning the parade and Northern Command, which oversees US troops in North America, will be responsible for executing it, according to the memo, which was signed by US Navy Capt. Hallock Mohler Jr., the executive secretary for the office of the secretary of defence.
The parade route will run from the White House to the Capitol, with the memo saying that veterans and Medal of Honour recipients will surround Trump in the reviewing area of the Capitol during the event.
News that Trump had asked the Pentagon to begin planning the parade emerged last month.
“We’ll see if we can do it at a reasonable cost, and if we can’t, we won’t do it. But the generals would love to do it, I can tell you, and so would I,” Trump told Fox News.
“I think it’s great for our country in terms of being a cheerleader and the spirit,” he added.