Trump's Birthday Parade

[Dr. Shades]

*About I dunno 5 years ago I was in Old Navy and asked if they give discounts with a military ID card. (I have one) Turns out I was there on the wrong day and they only give discounts one day a week. To which I went into a speech about how..."That's too bad this store only sees fit to give military discounts (I think it was 10%) one day a week in this military town when our military is on duty 24/7, they are subject to being called in in the middle of the night, don't get sick days, and when they're deployed their spouses don't know where they are going, worry about their safety, if there's a conflict they're glued to television reports all day long trying to see if they can pick their wife/husband out of a sea of uniforms, they're wearing 2 hats 24/7 that they're gone, rowing the boat alone, with no family around, with no breaks until they return, and they never know if they're coming back alive or dead".

Yep, I did that.

How did the high school girl working behind the register react to that?

[Moksha]

An online motorpool soldier noted this:

To retrofit each tank for the event, 50,000 dollars each to put the soft padding on the tracks, note that it will be discarded after the event because they are a one-use pad.

[Some Schmo]

I watched replay footage on various youtube channels of the parade...tanks, military marching and all. What really made me sad (among other things---I've got a list going over here) is that our military was out there in parade and I didn't see spectators along the roads even cheering for them. I wish people would have at least celebrated them. I don't think they enjoy parade and especially not in heavy uniforms in the East Coast heat. But of course, there they were following orders, having practiced and all...and no one really cheered for them.

I just wish people appreciated our military more than they seem to or even knew more about what they do*. I better stop before I go into a rant that won't quit. I'm practicing self restraint. How'm I doing?

I understand the sentiment, but I imagine the main reason people weren't cheering (other than, as I heard, it was a pretty lackluster affair) is that they aren't used to the the military being used as a prop in this country (unless you include the flyovers before football games, and I suppose I do).

Just looking at the photos, I find it depressing. We aren't damned North Korea (not yet, anyway).

[Markk]

I watched replay footage on various youtube channels of the parade...tanks, military marching and all. What really made me sad (among other things---I've got a list going over here) is that our military was out there in parade and I didn't see spectators along the roads even cheering for them. I wish people would have at least celebrated them. I don't think they enjoy parade and especially not in heavy uniforms in the East Coast heat. But of course, there they were following orders, having practiced and all...and no one really cheered for them.

I just wish people appreciated our military more than they seem to or even knew more about what they do*. I better stop before I go into a rant that won't quit. I'm practicing self restraint. How'm I doing?

I understand the sentiment, but I imagine the main reason people weren't cheering (other than, as I heard, it was a pretty lackluster affair) is that they aren't used to the the military being used as a prop in this country (unless you include the flyovers before football games, and I suppose I do).

Just looking at the photos, I find it depressing. We aren't damned North Korea (not yet, anyway).

You have no idea what you are even talking about. It was a celebration for the Army being 250 years old, which has been propping up our country all that time, so you can bitch and moan all you want.

[Kishkumen]

You have no idea what you are even talking about. It was a celebration for the Army being 250 years old, which has been propping up our country all that time, so you can bitch and moan all you want.

I agree that it was a celebration for the Army being 250 years old. I wish I had been there to see it. It is a real shame that Trump had to crap all over that by being the authoritarian narcissist that he is. Still, I could have ignored Trump's fecal stains to appreciate the great legacy of our armed forces, the brave men and women who have fought for our freedoms.

[Some Schmo]

You have no idea what you are even talking about.

Projection.

It was a celebration for the Army being 250 years old, which has been propping up our country all that time, so you can bitch and moan all you want.

Yes, that's the excuse Trump's lickspittles are supposed to cite for his idiot birthday parade, and there you are, right on cue.

[Chap]

I don't want to be offensive, but from the videos I have seen I would say that the US soldiers marching in Trump's parade were clearly not making the slightest effort to march in a smart and soldierly manner. They were just walking along the road.

Even I, with very little military training, still know how to do marching at attention, many years after last putting my boots on.

But these soldiers were just walking along the street. I am quite sure they could have done smart marching if that had been what they or their officers wanted. But they didn't. Why?

Trump wanted a parade just like he saw in Paris on Bastille Day a few years ago. But he certainly didn't get it. I can't believe that was an accident.

Can anybody explain?

[ceeboo]

I don't want to be offensive, but from the videos I have seen I would say that the US soldiers marching in Trump's parade were clearly not making the slightest effort to march in a smart and soldierly manner. They were just walking along the road.

Even I, with very little military training, still know how to do marching at attention, many years after last putting my boots on.

But these soldiers were just walking along the street. I am quite sure they could have done smart marching if that had been what they or their officers wanted. But they didn't. Why?

Trump wanted a parade just like he saw in Paris on Bastille Day a few years ago. But he certainly didn't get it. I can't believe that was an accident.

Can anybody explain?

Chap is extremely silly most of the time, isn't he?

[Gadianton]

Well said, Dr. Cam.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

Can anybody explain?

I can hazard some guesses, I suppose.

1) The US Army generally doesn’t do Drill and Ceremony (DNC) because the priority is typically focused on war fighting readiness and lethality. So, it’s not really in our military culture to do big parades. They train train train, instead.

2) with regard to the above, they probably had about a day’s practice wherever they were encamped. That simply isn’t enough time to get the muscle memory down. A lot of their time was making movement to DC, which is an ordeal in and of itself. Here’s the thing, when the Army does a Pass and Review (PNR), which is what this parade actually was, it’s on their home installation and they really practice A LOT in the 3 or 4 days leading up to it. Soldiers haaaaaaaaaaaaate DNC, and they absolutely, and I mean viscerally, hate PNRs. I could go into some detail why, but it suffices to really drive home how much Soldiers hate ‘dog and pony shows’. So, I can guarantee morale was bottom of the barrel for a very unnecessary PNR.

3) There was loud rock music being blasted along with loud af machinery squeaking down the road. Those formations closer to a band had better cadence than those that didn’t. If you can’t hear either the thump-thump-thump of the band’s drum or your cadence caller, Soldiers will “F” up their synchronization. It’s inevitable.

4) Protesting. All it takes is for a handful of troops to screw up the cadence. I’m sure there were Soldiers there that absolutely despise Trump and MAGA, so this was a chance to ruin Trump’s Big Day.

5) I’m fairly certain the Soldiers were cobbled together from different units, voluntold to go on temporary duty (TDY) for this thing. In many cases, units send their crappy Soldiers because they’re on a very tight training schedule. So, the lack of unit cohesion, units probably not sending their best, and being on a crappy TDY certainly isn’t a great recipe for marching uniformly.

It was a perfect storm for incompetence, poor environment, and malicious compliance.

- Doc