Festivities in Washington on Saturday to mark the Army's 250th anniversary, culminating in a parade of military equipment rolling past the National Mall, will be grand in both size and cost.
The Army estimates the event, which is expected to last into the night, will cost between $25 million and $45 million, a range that does not include expenses the city of Washington will likely have to cover itself.
The Army's figure accounts for the price of transporting 150 vehicles into the city, including 28 tanks and 50 aircraft for multiple military flyovers, one that will send a Golden Knights team parachuting to the White House to present a folded flag to President Donald Trump, whose 79th birthday is on the same day.
The Army is also sending more than 6,000 soldiers from every division to participate in the day's activities.
Federal contracting records reviewed by Scripps News detail how the costs are adding up, including about $32,000 to rent hundreds of sleeping cots.
The National Guard is also requesting quotes for thousands of catered meals to feed troops for a five-day period.
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The records show an undisclosed amount being spent to set up medical aid stations for up to 15,000 participants.
President Trump wanted a similar splashy military display during his first term after attending a Bastille Day celebration in France. In 2018, the D.C. mayor estimated a military parade would cost the city $21 million, including $13 million to provide police to augment security.
President Trump canceled the parade that year over the projected high costs.
A spokesman for the mayor said he did not have any numbers to share on what the bill might look like for Saturday's events.
President Trump, who has long sought to have a military parade, has said it's all "peanuts" compared to the value of celebrating the military.
"This parade salutes our soldiers' remarkable strength and unbeatable spirit," Trump said in a video posted to social media. "You won't want to miss it."
Among those who will skip the parade is Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democratic congressman from Tennessee, who said the events are a waste of money at a time the Trump administration is firing federal workers and slashing government services.
"We're cutting money from people for health care and cutting money for people who need nutritional assistance and SNAP payments, and yet we're spending money on a parade?" Cohen said in an interview with Scripps News.
The last time military tanks and weaponry moved through Washington on display was in 1991 to celebrate victory at the end of the first Gulf War.
That parade also was expensive, costing $12 million, equal to $28 million today.
Some of the expense was to repair roads damaged by the tanks, weighing 80 tons each.
To prevent that from happening this time, the Army will lay down steel plates on parts of the street where the tanks will pivot to make turns and will attach rubber pads on the tank tracks in hopes of protecting the roads.
