The 250th Birthday of the U.S. Army Grand Military Parade and Celebration took place on June14, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., to officially commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States Army on June 14, 1775, the oldest of the six branches of the United States Armed Forces. It is part of the celebrations marking the United States Semiquincentennial, the 250thanniversary of the nation's founding and described as a "soft launch" of official celebrations.
The parade coincided with both the 79thbirthday of Donald Trump, the 45th and 47thpresident of the United States, and Flag Day. It was the first military parade in Washington D.C. since the 1991 National Victory Celebration held by President George H.W. Bush, which commemorated U.S. soldiers in the involvement and conclusion of the Gulf War.
The parade involved around 6,600soldiers from at least 11corps and divisions nationwide, with at least 150vehicles, 50helicopters, warplanes, horses, mules, parachutists, celebrities, seven bands' musical performances, and several thousand civilian attendees.
The parade faced bipartisan criticism due to its high projected cost, estimated at between $25 and $45million, especially as it coincided with broader government cost-cutting measures. Additional controversy arose from its timing on Trump's birthday, which critics argued politicized the military and drew comparisons to displays typically seen in authoritarian regimes. The idea for the parade originated during Trump's first term, when a similar proposal was rejected by the Pentagon over concerns that it would appear overly political. Millions of demonstrators attended nationwide protests against the parade and Trump's policies on the same day in the largest coordinated protests since the start of the second Trump administration.
Background First-term parade plans During his first presidential term, Donald Trump had advocated for a military parade on Veterans Day in 2018. Trump espoused this desire after watching France's Bastille Day celebrations in 2017.
The idea was opposed by Pentagon officials who said they wanted to keep the military out of politics. Defense secretary Jim Mattis reportedly told Trump he would "rather swallow acid" than have the parade, while Gen. Paul J. Selva remarked that military parades were "what dictators do". Trump canceled the 2018 parade, citing projected costs, but directed the 2019 Salute to America Independence Day event at the National Mall. Trump again brought up the idea for a parade in 2020 with Mattis's successor, Mark T. Esper, who suggested an "air parade" to coincide with July 4. The Trump administration ultimately organized the 2020 Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration and 2020 Salute to America as part of Independence Day celebrations.
Planning and preparations
The Army began planning a 250th-birthday celebration in 2023, and making plans for an event in Washington, D.C., in 2024. In 2025, during his second term, Trump again ordered a military parade from the Pentagon. The New York Times described the Pentagon's quick acceptance as the result of a more acquiescent Pentagon without the guardrails present in his first term. The Army stated the parade was Trump's idea and planning for it only began a few months beforehand, with Axios describing it as a "soft launch" of official celebrations for the United States Semiquincentennial.
In April 2025, the Army approached D.C. officials about making the 250th birthday celebration bigger by adding demonstrations and vehicle displays on the National Mall in a multi-day event that could also include a military parade.
The original plan called for a parade route that stretched almost from the Pentagon in Arlington to the White House. Ultimately, a shorter route was chosen.
By May of 2025, the Army was expecting to spend between $25 million and $45 million on the parade, including an estimated $16 million worth of damage to Washington's streets. By comparison, the estimated cost of Trump's planned 2018 military parade, featuring all service branches, was $100 million, the specific focus on the Army was expected to reduce cost. By June, the Army was reporting the parade would cost $40 million. While the parade is unique to the celebration of the Army, no official parades are planned for the Navy or Marines which also celebrate their 250th anniversary in 2025.
Most of the tanks, vehicles and equipment for the parade were shipped from Fort Hood, Texas, to Jessup, Maryland, by train, and were then transported on flatbed trucks to D.C. Soldiers for the parade slept in cots in government buildings, including the Department of Agriculture headquarters, a government warehouse owned by the General Service Administration on Seventh Street, and at Joint Base Andrews. The Army had difficulty finding uniforms for the War of 1812 and the Spanish-American War and eventually eliminated them from the program, due to "running into trouble with the costuming process". Many of the costumes were sourced from Hollywood prop houses.
The parade began 30 minutes early, at 6 p.m. EDT, due to weather conditions. Events related to the 250th Anniversary started earlier in the day at the National Mall, including the "Army's 250th Birthday Festival" which ran from 11a.m. to 6p.m. The parade itself followed a route down Constitution Avenue 23rd Street, NW to 15th Street NW, past the White House. Heavy, tracked vehicles were stationed near the Lincoln Memorial. A concert was held at 7:30 p.m. at the Ellipse. The evening ended with a fireworks display.
Participants, equipment, performers and sponsors
Participants
The parade included the following participants: United States Army Parachute Team ("Golden Knights") American Revolutionary War United States Army Band 3rd Infantry Regiment Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps Commander-in-Chief's Guard American Civil War 4th Infantry Division World War I 42nd Infantry Division World War II 82nd Airborne Division 101st Airborne Division Korean War 2nd Infantry Division 3rd Infantry Division Vietnam War 1st Cavalry Division 25th Infantry Division Gulf War 1st Infantry Division 1st Armored Division Global War on Terrorism Special Operations Command/Army Rangers 10th Mountain Division 160th Aviation Regiment Modern era 7th Infantry Division 11th Airborne Division United States Army Reserve 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade Army Future United States Military Academy Initial Entry Training Virginia Military Institute South Carolina Corps of Cadets Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets Re-enlistment/Enlistees
Equipment The parade included the following equipment: Bell AH-1 Cobra Helicopters Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopters Boeing AH-6 Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopters Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters Hughes OH-6 Cayuse MD Helicopters MH-6 Little Bird Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters North American B-25 Mitchell Douglas C-47 Skytrain North American P-51 Mustang GMC CCKW 2½-ton 6×6 truck M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams main battle tank M3 half-track M4 Sherman medium tank M35 series 2½-ton 6×6 cargo truck M109A7 Paladin self-propelled howitzer M119 howitzer M274 ½-ton 4×4 utility platform truck M777 howitzer Bradley Fighting Vehicles Stryker Armored Fighting Vehicles Infantry Squad Vehicles Willys Jeep Anduril Industries Ghost X PDW C100 small unmanned aerial system Skydio X10D autonomous drone Ghost Robotics V60 Quadruped Uncrewed Ground Vehicle
Performers
The concert after the parade included the following performers: Warren Zeiders Lee Greenwood
Sponsors A number of corporations, including Oracle, Amazon, Exiger, BNY, Goldman Sachs, Coinbase, Lockheed Martin, Palantir Technologies, Stellantis (and their Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram brands), Coca-Cola, Walmart, Ultimate Fighting Championship, Phorm Energy, Nextdoor, FedEx, and Scotts Miracle-Gro, were sponsors of the event.
Reaction Cost concerns The parade drew concern over its high cost, with the Army estimating $25 million to $45 million for the parade, along with an estimated $16 million to damages of the roads. The Army Corps of Engineers stated its worst-case scenario had the cost of damage at $16 million, but that it expected to be reduced to $3.5 million after plans were made to put down steel plates and reinforce them with railroad ties to protect the road. The Army further stated it was placing new track pads on tanks to create further separation between the metal track and the ground. Trump stated that the cost was "peanuts compared to the value of doing it." Criticism was particularly raised over the cost due to the Trump administration's cost-cutting efforts elsewhere in the government for education, health, and public assistance.
The Intercept reported that the $45 million cost was likely an underestimate due to unaccounted for expenses, and that members of Congress were "already expressing outrage at what they see as a gross misuse of funds." Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal criticized the parade, stating that "Trump squandering $45 million in taxpayer dollars on a military parade for his birthday is the epitome of government waste", calling it "exorbitant" and criticizing it while large budget cuts for "training programs, freezes on hiring, shrinking staff levels, deferring maintenance, jeopardizing equipment maintenance fees" were ongoing. Democratic Representative Steve Cohen stated that "this administration does not have a credible history of telling the truth about anything" and that "when they estimate $45 million, you know that's a low-ball figure". Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth stated she would rather the Army spend the money on childcare and tuition reimbursement for military families.
Politico reported that GOP senators had questioned the cost of the parade, with Republican Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker saying that "I would have recommended against the parade", but that "the secretary feels that it will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for thousands of young Americans to see what a great opportunity it is to participate in a great military force, that it will be a recruiting tool. So, we'll see." Republican Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins stated that she supported celebrating the army, but that "the cost does seem a bit steep". Republican Sen. Ron Johnson stated that "If it costs money, I won't go".
Politicization and Trump's birthday The parade was criticized over apparent politicization and its occurrence on Trump's birthday, which was also both the 250th anniversary of the US Army and Flag Day. USA Today reported there was significant debate whether the parade is "a celebration of the Army's storied heritage, or an homage to Trump and the political movement he leads? Or both?" The stated purpose of the parade shifted over time, with the Army first stating that it would not happen on Trump's birthday and later that it would only celebrate the Army's semiquincentennial. Trump defended himself against claims the parade was celebrating his birthday, stating that it was a celebration of Flag Day, the military at large, and vehicles and weapons, saying "I view it for Flag Day, not necessarily my birthday. Somebody put it together. But no, I think we're going to do something on June 14, maybe, or somewhere around there. But I think June 14. It's a very important day." Republican Senator Jim Justice stated that he thought "It's great celebrating President Trump's birthday, and I think it's great celebrating the military".