US Veterans Day parade is deferred until 2019
THE Veterans Day military parade ordered by President Donald Trump will not happen in 2018, the US Defence Department said.
Colonel Rob Manning, a Pentagon spokesman, said the military and the White House “have now agreed to explore opportunities in 2019”.
The announcement came several hours after reports that the parade would cost about $US 92 million (£72 million), according to US officials citing preliminary estimates more than three times the price first suggested by the White House.
According to the officials, roughly $US 50 million (£39.3 million) would cover Pentagon costs for aircraft, equipment, personnel and other support for the November parade in Washington.
The remainder would be borne by other agencies and largely involve security costs. The estimate was first reported by CNBC.
Officials said the plans had not yet been approved by Defence Secretary Jim Mattis.
Mr Mattis himself said late on Thursday that he had seen no such estimate, and questioned the media reports.
The Pentagon chief told reporters travelling with him to Bogota, Colombia, that whoever leaked the number to the press was “probably smoking something that is legal in my state but not in most” – a reference to his home state of Washington, where marijuana use is legal.
He added: “I’m not dignifying that number ($92 million) with a reply. I would discount that, and anybody who said (that number), I’ll almost guarantee you one thing: They probably said, ‘I need to stay anonymous’. No kidding, because you look like an idiot. And number two, whoever wrote it needs to get better sources. I’ll just leave it at that.”
The parade’s cost has become a politically charged issue, particularly after the Pentagon cancelled a major military exercise planned for August with South Korea, in the wake of Mr Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Mr Trump said the drills were provocative and that dumping them would save the US “a tremendous amount of money”.
The Pentagon later said the Korea drills would have cost $US 14 million (£11 million).
Lt Col Jamie Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said earlier on Thursday that Defence Department planning for the parade “continues and final details are still being developed. Any cost estimates are pre-decisional”.
The parade was expected to include troops from all five armed services –the army, navy, air force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard – as well as units in period uniforms representing earlier times in the nation’s history.
It was also expected to involve a number of military aircraft flyovers.
A Pentagon planning memo released in March said the parade would feature a “heavy air component”, likely including older, vintage aircraft.