June 14 is a big day for me, one that is dear to my heart. No, it’s not the parade in Washington, D.C., that celebrates President Trump’s birthday and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army (it’s Flag Day as well). So I won’t need the nearly $45 million dollars that the parade-festival-birthday will cost. And then there’s the $10 million for road repairs from dozens of tanks, rocket launchers and other military vehicles as well as 6,600 U.S. Army troops. My day will be relatively simple, commemorating my father’s yahrzeit, the Jewish anniversary of his passing.
While there will be a festival and parade, I will honor dad’s World War II service as a military intelligence officer assigned to interrogate Nazi POWs. Yes, I’m making a comparison of service here. And note that the originally scheduled Flag Day parade was supposed to be an inexpensive event at the National Mall with just 300 soldiers and civilians, the U.S. Army Band, four cannons and seating for only 120 attendees.
My father was a dedicated and loyal military man, but he was also a chief financial officer and financial consultant to many large American corporations. He understood money, funding, loans and over-spending. If he hadn’t already passed away, this parade would have gotten some very stern words from him. He wouldn’t have been like the Senate Armed Services Committee chair, Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, who was skeptical about the parade’s cost and benefits, but bowed to the reasoning offered by Pete Hegseth, Trump’s secretary of defense. Hegseth maintains that it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for thousands of Americans to see what a great opportunity it is to become part of our great military force.
In reality, military enlistment has already seen an increase with 2024 new enlistments 12.5% higher than in 2023. The Army actually exceeded its 2024 goal of new recruits. While some attribute the increase to political changes, the recovery in recruitment numbers began before Trump, due to recruitment reforms like bonuses — not politics.
Note that there was an unusual 18% increase in women enlistments in 2024. I doubt that many women will be inspired by the parade to enlist. Hegseth hasn’t been welcoming in his back-and-forth views about women’s ability to serve in combat and his complaints of “woke” programs. And I wonder how many folks will want to participate in the military as they watch the federalized National Guard troops quell protesters in Los Angeles. If those 4,000 Guard members aren’t off-putting enough, Trump has put what is a state-based military under his control, rather than the state’s governor. And consider the mobilization of 700 Marines from Camp Pendleton to LA. Who’d want to be involved in what looks like a declaration of martial law?