First, let me explain my tongue-in-cheek photo choice above. I’m sure Trump means he wants US military forces marching down Pennsylvania Avenue, but damn. Those North Koreans can march!
"That military may come marching down Pennsylvania Avenue. That military may be flying over New York City and Washington, D.C., for parades. I mean, we’re going to be showing our military," he continued. (Quote taken from Talking Points Memo.)
Several points here. First, you don’t have to showboat the US military for the world to know they are strong. Our military is the best in the history of the world. We don’t have to showboat.
Second, soldiers, I think, hate parades. Being in a parade means getting up at 0-dark-thirty to get ready, assemble, and get transported to the parade site. It is exhausting. After the parade, it’s the reverse. Assemble, transport, and get back home. To get troops, except for the DC area-based troops, to DC for a parade would be a pain in the neck for the troops. And believe me, you don’t want to see a parade populated by the Pentagon staff.
Third, troops that are parading are not training for their mission. The mission of our Armed Forces is not to parade for Trump. The mission is to defend the United States of America. Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, and Coast Guardsmen are not in the military to march in fancy parades. They are in the military to defend our nation.
Last, and I’m guessing here because I don’t know, you don’t see a lot of military forces from around the country assembling in DC for a reason. Bringing a lot of tanks, artillery, troops, and airplanes to DC is not the spirit of our nation. We are not a military nation. Our military has a tradition of not involving in politics, and bringing troops and equipment to DC to support a current President is just not in the spirit of our nation. It could send a wrong message, even if the military forces involved did not intend it.
Trump’s remarks and, I suppose, his plans for a grand parade, are indicative of his ignorance of what being in the military is like and supposed to mean. He thinks he can say, “Bring an armored corps, a couple of Airborne Divisions, the Marines, and a bunch of airplanes to Washington. I want to see them in a neat little parade,” and it will just happen in a few days.
Sheesh.
If he wants to support the troops, give them a good pay raise. Give them good equipment that they need, and is not purchased just to mollify the Representatives and Senators from certain districts/states, guarantee their healthcare and the healthcare of their families.
Most of all, if he wants to support the troops, he should tell them, “I will ask you to sacrifice your life only as a last measure, and only if it is absolutely required for the defense of the United States of America.”