Thoughts On The Army's 250th Anniversary Parade

On June 14, much of America witnessed the Army’s 250^th anniversary military parade through Washington DC honoring our nation’s heroes. As described by CBS “The Army commemorated its 250^th anniversary with a festival and parade in Washington, D.C., on Saturday….. The event included about 6,600 soldiers, as well as about 150 vehicles and over 50 aircraft taking part. Large crowds of people lined up on the parade route to watch the festivities.” (CBS News, June 14, 2025)

The birth of the Army occurred over a year before the signing of the Declaration of Independence and in the aftermath of the first major fighting at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress voted to create the Continental Army. Ironically, also on Saturday the British celebrated King Charles III’s birthday while a number of Americans on the left held “No Kings” protests against the Army birthday celebrations. Having spent my life in and around the Army, I want to offer these thoughts.

First, “No Kings” protests were planned in direct opposition to Trump holding the Army 250^th anniversary parade. After Trump announced his plans for the parade weeks ago, the left immediately began making comparisons between Trump and authoritarian dictators. Words like “Fascist” and “authoritarian” and comparisons to places like North Korea became ubiquitous on the left. According to uber-progressive National Public Radio, “The parade stirred up controversy for what opponents view as a politicization of the nation’s armed forces and a break from U.S. democratic norms and sparked an organized 'No Kings' protest movement across the country Saturday.” (NPR, June 15, 2025)

Despite insane hyperbole of the left warning of the danger of holding a military parade, this has been a part of our nation’s tradition from the beginning of the Republic. Huge parades were held in Washington D.C. after the American Civil War, involving hundreds of thousands, and not the roughly 6,600 in this parade. The parades after World War II and Desert Storm involved thousands more troops than marched on Saturday. I recall as an Infantry Captain stationed in Hawaii in 1995 and being part of a massive military parade to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the end of the war in the Pacific. Thousands of us soldiers carried our weapons in Battle Dress Uniform and marched past then President Bill Clinton. Nobody made issue of all those parades being about “authoritarianism.”

Democratic nations throughout Western Europe hold military parades, like the UK military parade for King Charles III on Saturday or the massive military parades at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral or the coronation of Charles III. The criticism of Trump over this parade was solely about the left’s obsessive hatred of Donald Trump and what he represents.

On a personal level, my father, grandfather and great-grandfather were career Army officers, and my son is currently deployed overseas as an Army officer. I served as an Army Infantry officer for over 30 years, and my wife served for eight years as an Army physician. The Army is a part of me and I consider it a home. Like other veterans and family, the 250^th Army parade was beyond encouraging about the future of the military. That particularly was the case after the last four years of the Biden administration. The parade brought back particular memories from my teenage years as a military “brat”: My father was stationed in Europe from 1981 to 1986. I remember the early 1980s when the Reagan administration transformed the military and brought back pride and hope. The nation went from the “malaise’ period post-Vietnam and Carter administration to the optimism and patriotism of what became “Morning in America” of Reagan’s 49-state 1984 landslide election. Reagan brought the nation’s military back and hope for our national future. That feeling from Reagan was what I was feeling watching the June 14 parade.

After the catastrophic recruiting numbers over the years of the Biden administration, we have seen a complete turn-around in the willingness to serve. Recruiting goals were met four months “ahead” of schedule with the highest recruiting number in a decade and a half. (Fox Business, June 14, 2025)

The Trump administration recognizes and encourages military family traditions which have been the backbone of the nation from the beginning. Under the Biden and Obama administrations the military had been battered by leftist causes like the transexual movement, while warfighting and military family traditions were marginalized. Those horrendous priorities have ended with the priorities and emphasis of the Trump administration. The parade and celebration are part of this dynamic.

The 'No Kings' protests were all about opposing the alleged “authoritarian” Army parade but have failed completely in that aim. The vast majority of Americans proudly witnessed our young military heroes marching through Washington and felt the national turn-around to patriotism and optimism. The same zeitgeist as from the early 1980s under Reagan and victory in the Cold War. We must continue to sing “God Bless America” like we did Saturday, but must also dedicate ourselves to remaining the land of the free and the home of the brave under the God in whom we trust.