Did the Army outsmart Trump and play him like a fiddle?

[Irish_Dem]

All the hype about a fabulous $50M parade.
To be the envy of the world and rival France, Russia, North Korea parades?

When on parade day, the tanks looked weak and ridiculous?

I have seen some of the footage of the soldiers marching.
Most ridiculous thing I have ever seen in terms of military marching.
Soldiers dressed in their fatigues, walking, strolling, not even in step with each other.

I have seen first graders walking in a cross walk do better than that.

ETA: Funny how the Army said the jets could not fly in the rain.
I am an Air Force kid and it is 100% certain that military jets can fly in the rain and bad weather. If there is a low ceiling due to cloud cover, they can fly low like the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds do at the Air Shows every year. I have seen this personally.

The US military has been handling jackwad politicians for a very long time.
They can stall and wait out the politician who will be gone.
But the military will still be there.

Trump was humiliated and the American people were vindicated.

Well done US Army.

[Autumn]

1. No. The army went along with him but like everything Trump does

it's always half assed.

[flashman13]

34. Half assed yes. The look of the event wasn't an accident. I agree with Irish_Dem.

It was a big FU to Trump and he is too stupid to have realized what was happening.

[Walleye]

2. And they didn't have the jet flyovers to provide a soundtrack

Trump promised a celebration, I didn’t see any celebration yesterday. I know what celebration looks like I’ve been on Times Square New Year’s Eve. The commander-in-chief hiding behind bulletproof glass did not add to the celebratory mood. I think the soldiers are starting to get the word of how Trump treats veterans. Like shit.

[Irish_Dem]

6. Funny how that worked out, Army said the jets could not do a flyover in the rain.

I am an Air Force kid and it is 100% certain that military jets can fly in the rain.

And if there is cloud cover with a low ceiling, they can fly low.

Just like the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds do at Air Shows all the time.
Which I have personally seen.

[forgotmylogin]

48. Right, any cool maneuvers jets might have done would be obstructed from the ground.

The crowd wouldn't have seen anything above the cloud cover, and flying low was dangerous like flying in a fog-bank.

My favorite part was the crowd was so sparse and quiet you hear the squeaky wheels on the tanks and other vehicles.

I also loved the DJ smooth announcer whose copy came off as snark over the lame procession, "Imagine, no GPS or power steering! (squeak squeak squeakity-squeak like a bad shopping cart)"

(I do understand that noise isn't usually an issue with military vehicles, it was just funny how it all presented together.)

[Irish_Dem]

55. Jets can fly with a low ceiling. They do a different show.

Yes the whole parade was unreal, so bad.

[LogDog75]

84. They can fly in the rain or cloud cover

but that depends upon the situation. I watched AF planes fly during my AF career and during peacetime they didn't fly much when it rained or very low cloud cover. The reason was not to put the pilot or plane in danger. Had there been broken cloud cover in Washington DC no doubt they would have flown.

[Irish_Dem]

86. Not one pilot would do a five minute low altitude fly over for the CIC?

[Irish_Dem]

7. I just added the jet flyover issue to the main OP. Thanks I forgot about that piece Walleye.

[Walleye]

8. Yes, those jets can have earsplitting thundering

[ms liberty]

122. I grew up in Tampa in the 60's/70's to mid80's, the home of MacDill AFB

I believe it was still home to the Strategic Air Command thru that time period, so yes. They fly jets in the rain and clouds, like others I personally have seen it myself. Back in the day the hot shot pilots liked to buzz the beaches every chance they got, and some cloud cover on a hot summer day was a popular flight pattern because it gave them excuses if they got in trouble!

[Irish_Dem]

184. Yes the hotshot young USAF pilots like to buzz the tree tops and telephone wires.

Right they would blame low ceiling and cloud cover for it.
Squadron commanders not impressed.

Of course even the older pilots might waggle their wings for the kids and wife
as they flew over the housing area.

[travelingthrulife]

3. I agree. Marching to Fortunate Son was an awesome burn if the military chose the music.

[Crowman2009]

21. No way can anyone march to contemporary music.

Last edited Sun Jun 15, 2025, 09:30 PM - Edit history (1)

That's what fuckin' marching bands are for! You don't see figure skaters performing to free form jazz on ice.

[bluedigger]

164. Proud Mary has a pretty good cadence.

When our drill sergeant started singing it towards the end of basic, we were at first shocked as we recognized it, but it worked great, and we marched with enthusiasm that morning.

[Susan Calvin]

43. What? Wait?!

Are you telling me that at some point they marched to Fortunate Son?? Do you happen to have a link?!

[UpInArms]

45. I saw it ... but cannot figure from where

I hope someone else has that link

[Susan Calvin]

46. Nevermind.

https://variety.com/2025/music/columns/trump-fortunate-son-creedence-military-parade-draft-dodging-1236432479/

[barbtries]

173. thanks

couldn't find it on youtube.
This is great too because the intent of the song is discussed by the man who wrote it.

Shared on BlueSky as part of my #ProtestSongOfTheDay series

#ProtestSongOfTheDay
In honor of (or so i hear) krasnov playing this during his nazi parade.
And when you ask 'em, "How much should we give?"
Hoo, they only answer, "More, more, more, more"
youtu.be/3RmQTYLD398?...

— Democratic Barbara (@barbtries.bsky.social) 2025-06-16T14:04:25.548Z

[UpInArms]

47. Replying again with the link

Link to tweet

[forgotmylogin]

50. They're not marching, they're walking in formation.

I don't blame them - they had to walk like 2.5 miles to pass in front of like 500 people spread thin.

And yeah, marching isn't done to contemporary music with varying beats. Marching to music is dance, not military maneuvers.

[UpInArms]

52. I was aware of the "route march" order

… just love the soundtrack they “walked” to

[SilasSouleII]

100. John Philip Souza might disagree

n/t

[forgotmylogin]

124. Has he had a hit recently?

And yeah, marching isn't done to contemporary music

[SilasSouleII]

129. Well, he died in 1932, so no, nothing recently

But he was known as the "March King". And none of his "hits" would be considered "dance" music.

[Old Crank]

134. No royalties for Sousa.

One reason for popularity for marching bands.

The reason for Shakespeare festivals. No royalties havre to be paid.

[Cha]

63. Wow, I had no idea that was Going

On while Millions of us Protested on No Kings Day.

Mahalo!

[Karch]

69. Here ya go

Link to tweet

[cilla4progress]

176. Like a hostage video!

Poor troops!

[Farmer-Rick]

178. Yup, here are the lyrics that say it all

Some folks are born made to wave the flag
Hoo, they're red, white and blue
And when the band plays "Hail to the chief"
Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no senator's son, son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no furtunate one, no

Some folks are born silver spoon in hand
Lord, don't they help themselves, Lord?
But when the taxman come to the door
Lord, the house lookin' like a rummage sale, yeah
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no millionaire's son, no, no
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one, no

Yeah-yeah, some folks inherit star-spangled eyes
Hoo, they send you down to war, Lord
And when you ask 'em, "How much should we give?"
Hoo, they only answer, "More, more, more, more"
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no military son, son, Lord
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one, one
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one, no, no, no
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate son, no, no, no
It ain't me, it ain't me...

[Irish_Dem]

79. This is a song about rich people avoiding military service while the poor get killed.

A direct slap upside the head to the orange jackwad.

[mucholderthandirt]

4. So, how long before Der Fury has them put in front of a firing squad?

No one is allowed to humiliate Trump. There's always payback.

Though from what I understand about how low in the barrel the military is scraping up recruits, this is probably the best and brightest we had to offer.

[Irish_Dem]

9. Will be interesting to see if Trump fires someone.

No, I guarantee you if the Army wanted to put on a great parade,
dress uniforms, smartly stepping parade troops, flyover, etc they could do it for sure.

[Crowman2009]

22. How long before his heart gives up on him?

He's probably hate eating some big macs as we speak.

[C Moon]

60. Heart?

[luvallpeeps]

132. While the ketchup does the fly over.

Melania looked like she was holding back a laugh.

[colorado_ufo]

142. She looked like the only one there enjoying himself or herself!

[lamp_shade]

5. Excellent observation, Irish.

How could anyone NOT notice the "Soldiers dressed in their fatigues, walking, strolling, not even in step with each other." My thought was that they were all pissed off and did that on purpose.

[RandomNumbers]

10. Soldiers can be mightily pissed off and still march in step and look sharp.

Not doing that, means they expected no serious consequences.

[Irish_Dem]

13. Exactly they have been ordered to do it that way. So no consequences.

[Irish_Dem]

12. They would only do it if ordered to do it that way.

Or they put first day recruits in the parade who had not been taught how to march.

[Alice Kramden]

105. My Girl Scout troop marched better than that

And we were just Brownies - the littlest of the Girl Scouts in our town's Memorial Day parade, many years ago

[Irish_Dem]

146. Yes and our Brownie uniforms looked better than these rumpled fatigues the Army wore

at the parade.

[Lifeafter70]

111. Frist recruits know how to march

I went to my son's graduation from boot camp (marines) and my grandson's boot camp graduation (army). It looked nothing like this parade. Not to mention the different units that march in the Rose Parade every year.
These units looked like they didn't care and wished they could be somewhere else.

[jmowreader]

125. They DID put recruits in the parade!

In the video I posted in another place, they brought a platoon of basic trainees to march in the parade.

The weird thing is, the basic trainees didn't look any worse than the professional soldiers in the formations before and after them.

[mercuryblues]

20. I am willing to bet many of them had to give up their leave

and/or weekend to hail to the dictraitor and his traitor tots.

They wear what their commanding officer orders them to wear. All personnel have ACU's. Every parade I have been to, they usually have someone counting off, so they stay in step. This was a deliberate act or ignorance...think basic training level participants.

[OMGWTF]

36. "Dicktraitor" has been added to my very long, hilarious list of T💩p monikers. Thanks for your contribution!

[Irish_Dem]

147. The entire Army was pissed off from basic recruit to top generals.

And it shows in this parade.

[efhmc]

119. To me it was as if they wanted to get out of there ASAP.

[Raven123]

11. I saw clips of the marching

Some showed troops definitely not marching as precisely as I have seen in previous parades involving the military. I don’t know that they “played” the King, but I can’t imagine there being enthusiasm for such a spectacle. Maybe they were passing by empty viewing stands and chilled.

[Irish_Dem]

14. Troops are taught to be highly disciplined in their job tasks.

They don't get sloppy when doing a critical job in front of the Commander in Chief and
high level officials. They don't just chill in the middle of an important parade.

[Raven123]

23. Maybe they weren't in front of the CIC

[Irish_Dem]

25. The Army is usually more disciplined than this.

The whole thing was ridiculous.

[J_William_Ryan]

15. "When on parade day, the tanks looked weak and ridiculous?"

There’s an image of a World War II Era Sherman tank – was there anything more recent?

I didn’t watch, nor will I – but the OP’s description indicates some lame, ridiculous charade.

[Irish_Dem]

16. Lame ridiculous charade is what it looked like to me.

I am an Air Force kid and even the Air Force could have put on a better parade.
And the AF is not known for parade training.

[MissouriDem47]

73. Former Air Force

After basic training only had to march once at a Change of Command Ceremony. Needless to say we weren't very good at it. Even with some practice, we tried but things like that take a lot of practice.

[Irish_Dem]

76. USAF personnel are the smartest, nicest, most clever of all branches.

But handling guns, marching, saluting, spit and polish are not their thing.

[OldBaldy1701E]

99. Shhhh! Don't give it all away!!

[Gimpyknee]

103. But have no sense of humor

I was reprimanded by an Air Force officer some 5o years ago when I failed to salute him when he walked past me as I was heading to the mess hall at Bethesda Naval Hospital. He ordered me to halt and asked if the Navy taught proper military etiquette and respect for officers? I responded it did but I thought he was a bus driver. He put me on report. When my Chief asked me to explain my offense I told him my response. He said not to worry about it, they did look like bus drivers.

[Irish_Dem]

109. USAF doesn't have the greatest uniforms.

The Navy uniforms are wonderful.

Usually AF officers are laid back. I rarely saw anyone salute growing up.
Except the MPs at the gate saluted officers coming on to the base.

Every now and then you would get an AF officer with a stick up his ass,
But not very often.

[William Gustafson]

136. Talk about Bus Driver uniforms...

I was in the Coast Guard in 1974 and our dress blues were actual blue bus driver suits... not like in the 60'a were they were more like the navy dress blues... I hated them...

[Doc_Technical]

140. My sister worked at a Navel Air Station.

When the sailors found out that our father was in the Air Force,
they kidded her about the Air force "bus driver" uniforms.
One day, the base personal had to wear their white uniforms
so my sister said they looked like the Good Humor ice cream
salesmen, and kept asking the for fudge cycles and drumsticks.
They didn't think that was funny.
Revenge (and ice cream) are dishes best served cold.

[SomewhereInTheMiddle]

156. Can you march on golf courses?

Army civilian for 8 years. Picked up a lot of Army "humor". What they say about the Air Force.

[swong19104]

26. I think I saw

an Abrams tank. The Sherman was there to represent tanks from WWII. The parade was to show the history of the Army from its inception 250 years ago. There were soldiers dressed in Revolutionary War uniforms, Civil War uniforms (the Union, not the confederacy), WWI, Two, Korean, Vietnam, and more recent military excursions.

[kwijybo]

172. More recent vehicles

I didn't watch it, just the high lights on the news. They had vehicles (8 wheeled) that come in 3 or 4 different flavors, from troop carriers to comms. Looked it up, it's a Stryker. They were used as recently as Iraq.

[Irish_Dem]

24. I am sure you are wrong on this, UP.

I grew up in the military.
Career USAF father who flew combat in three wars.
Mother a military nurse during the Korean War.
Two brothers in US Army.
Uncles in Army and Navy.

I remember as a kid, reading some bad news in the Stars and Stripes,
the military newspaper. About how politicians were going to screw over
the USAF in some way. I went to my mother and voiced my worry.

She just laughed and said not to worry.

She said US military has been fighting jackass politicians for 200 years.
They just wait out the politicians, yank them around, and stall for time.
Soon the politician will be out of office and all will go back to normal.
And she was right, that is what happened.

And based on what I saw of the parade, that is exactly what I saw once again.
Even Air Force high school ROTC could put on a better parade.

[underpants]

37. Okay. I think we're both right.

Thomas Ricks’s “Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq” went into this with W&Dick. The brass sees POTUS’s as temps.

[LogDog75]

93. That was a route step march

Route Step March is normally used when the terrain is uneven or difficult and it isn't something to be done in a parade. They may have been at At Ease March in which movement is permitted as long as silence, dress, cover, interval, and distance are maintained.
But even that doesn't make sense when troops march in a parade especially when they're passing in review. Route Step and At Ease March is used in the field to get troops from one point to another.

I've marched in a number of civilian parades (voluntarily) and base reviews in uniform with other members from our base and we didn't march anything like what the video shows. Days before a civilian parade or base review we'd practice how we march so when the time came to be seen we'd look sharp.

As for not marching to martial music, it's up to the person who is leading them to provide the cadence so everyone is in step.

As a retired AF Senior NCO, the thing I look at when I see troops marching are:
Do they maintain dress (alignment with those on their right and/or left)Cover (staying directly behind the person in front of them)
Interval (the distance from the back of the person in front of you to your chest.
Is anyone "bouncing" while they march which makes them stick out
Do they move as a single unit.

Those troops in the video displayed little of the above.

[slightlv]

94. No matter what they did or why

I can guarantee it wasn't the parade trumpy was expecting!

Former Air Force here, and the only marching we did after basic was changing of the guard.. commander. We didn't march but the one time we did it was in dress blues, in time, and smartly.

Just seeng soldiers in fatigues at this type of parade blew my mind. Total diss on trump.

[LogDog75]

98. Funny story about marching

I was in the medial group and one thing about marching is the medics aren't too good at marching. I was at Myrtle Beach AFB in the late 70s and the base held a Pass in Review (parade). Each group would march past the reviewing stand where the wing, base, and group commanders and their wives would be. Our first sergeant has us practicing the last hour of the duty day for four days to get ready for the Pass in Review. All the group units lined up in front of the enlisted dorms and marched to the flight line where the review was being held. Once there, we waited until the order to Pass in Review was given and then each of the groups would march with about 30 feet between them. When our group's turn came we marched down the flightline with man out of step, airmen bouncing up-and-down while marching, and just looking bad. As we came upon the reviewing stands, there was a line on the flightline which indicated when we would be judged. Observers told us as we came to the line everything fell into place with everyone in-step, no one bouncing, and we move as one unit. As soon as we past the final review line one of the med techs lost her shoe and stopped to pick it up causing problems for those behind her. After that our marching fell apart but we weren't under review.

Funniest thing at the time was we weren't aware one group would be chosen as the "best" and we won. When we heard that the next work day everyone had a good laugh about it.

[slightlv]

110. Good one, Logdog! nt

[Skittles]

114. hey

I noticed that listless marching and thought WTF - in USAF we literally were more snappy than that when we marched from our dorm room to tech training, right after Basic

[Irish_Dem]

151. Sad situation when the USAF dresses better and is more snappy than the USArmy.

[DFW]

135. East Germany collapsed in 1990, and the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Both countries were well on their way there by mud1990, so there was’t much danger of that balloon going up during 1990-1993. Clinton’s biggest concern by then was the Balkan conflict, which lasted for most of his presidency.

[Crowman2009]

18. This is why the old guard and the us army band are the ones doing ceremonial marching the vast majority of the time.

[RockRaven]

19. Nah, they "just followed orders" as expected. It happened that their orders were

given by a bunch of lazy superficial incompetents, leading to the shambolic appearance.

The notion that this was an act of resistance sounds like hopium/copium. Why assume resistance when we already know The Dotard and Kegsbreath are sloppy buffoons? Occam's Razor -- this is probably the parade which was ordered.

[pfitz59]

27. Soldiers don't march in sync over long distances.

Too tiring. They were 'straggling'. A real marching command. They surely formed up and marched while 'passing in review'. What I think the real tell was broadcasting "Fortunate Son" along the route.

[Irish_Dem]

28. Why didn't we see any video of really sharp parade march, with dress uniforms?

With huge numbers of soldiers.

Straggling for a $50M parade?
Sure.

USAF ROTC could have done better.

[calimary]

141. "Fortunate Son"? Holy Cow! Really?

Boy, that certainly IS a tell, if ever there was one!

And so many shots of trump looking dejected and even defeated, with a really pathetic facial expression. Sheesh! Do you suppose he actually “got” the “joke”? That wouldn’t just be a punchline. That would be a punch-in-the-gut line.

I guess maybe all the contrived prancing and posing and “Look at ME! I’m KING!” stuff just isn’t working for him anymore.

[DENVERPOPS]

29. We think like each other I_D

I made similar comments in another posting........

It definitely appeared to be a subtle rebellion, a passive aggressive show by the Military and esp their soldiers........

Did you see the video of Heg whatever and Trump's faces while it was going on??????? Wow were they pissed off............

[Irish_Dem]

61. I saw the picture of Heg looking totally plastered, drunk and high on cocaine.

He is laughing hysterically while everyone else looks like they are at a funeral.
Then later he looks checked out.

I saw a picture of Rubio who looked very bored with a deliberate sour look on his face.

I wonder why they were so pissed off?

[Prairie Gates]

30. It was a spectacle of malicious compliance

The Army planners themselves chose Fortunate Son.

[red dog 1]

31. K&R

The US Military is still great despite the fact that a totally unqualified alcoholic is now the Secretary of Defense.

[yellow dahlia]

32. I think the person put in charge of the event was a 22 year old incompetent and recent intern.

Under-qualified and incompetent is the norm for this shit show.

[Irish_Dem]

58. Actually I think it was a highly skilled and clever field grade officer and NCO.

To do something this bad within certain parameters took some skill and experience.

[yellow dahlia]

102. SNAFU

[yellow dahlia]

106. Look what I just found on DU.

And so, I was wrong - he is 25. Well then - he is seasoned professional.

Calling all incompetent twenty something incels, weirdos, misfits, and sociopaths - you too can get a job at the administration take over.

[bucolic_frolic]

33. Oh, noesky! "Jackwad"!

Would they have been instructed to march that way?

Shouldn't all but loyalists be purged, like the Executive branch?

[xmas74]

35. I live next to Whiteman AFB

They practice in the rain. They can fly.

[Irish_Dem]

57. My USAF dad flew combat in three wars. Sometimes it was raining.

[xmas74]

67. Exactly.

They train in all weather to be ready to deploy at any time.
I'm shocked he didn't demand the Stealth fly overhead, just like at a NFL game.

[Irish_Dem]

70. I bet Trump ordered the Stealth, but the day of the parade, the pilot said he couldn't fly in rain.

Trump believed it.

[xmas74]

71. I know a few of those pilots.

When they don't want to fly it's bad.

[Irish_Dem]

75. If there is horrific weather they won't fly.

But was the weather that bad yesterday in DC?
Not one airplane could do a one minute flyover?

[BOSSHOG]

38. And there was FORTUNATE SON in the Soundtrack

[Irish_Dem]

144. A big slap in orange f-wad's face.

[Mysterian]

39. Instrumental version of Fortunate Son played during the parade

This could not be a coincidence. Army marching at route step for the CINC could not be a coincidence. I'm hoping as an Army vet the brass was telling Commander Bonespurs "fuck you."

[fierywoman]

40. In the clips that I have seen, I was struck by how boring and pedantic the narrative was --

it was like the author of the narrative designed it to be as un-militaristic as possible. (Kudos to the author !)

[LetMyPeopleVote]

41. The troops may not have had their hearts into this stunt

Link to tweet

I've marched in more military parades than I even care to remember.

Probably watched dozens more as a spectator.

And this is easily the worst and sloppiest marching I've ever witnessed at a formal military parade.

It feels like a big "fuck you" to Trump from the soldiers.

[Historic NY]

51. Out for a walk.

[C_U_L8R]

42. Kegsbreath better like the taste of ketchup

Trump will blame him for the parade flop and the Heinz bottles will be flying.

[Irish_Dem]

91. I think Heg knew that.

He looked toasted for some of the parade. High on booze and cocaine.
Laughing like a maniac when every one else looked bored and depressed.

[Irish_Dem]

92. Speaking of cocaine where was Don Jr during the parade?

I didn't see him or Ivanka.

[Submariner]

44. He's lucky they didn't Anwar Sadat his ass

a yellow bellied draft dodging coward took their day off away from them and they showed him the big FU.

[Irish_Dem]

56. Yep, it was a thing of beauty wasn't it?

[MorbidButterflyTat]

95. Exactly!!

[Historic NY]

49. Trump forgot the WD-40 he was very squeaky.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

96. I don't know what that means

but it sounds funny!

[marble falls]

53. No doubt in my mind - don't ever underestimate the cleverness of a GI. Or any enlisted man who's peeved.

[Irish_Dem]

54. Same goes with officers, especially generals who have been humiliated.

[Grammy23]

59. I've seen Boy Scouts with more snap and precision.

Seeing as how tRump made it clear this Really Big Show was actually to honor him, you’d think they’d have been spit shined and crisp in their uniforms. Instead we get a strolling bunch looking quite casual and lackadaisical. I’m betting that tRump was livid. That is when he had his eyes open enough to see. The rest of the rat pack looked bored and ready to head for a bar for a stiff drink. Joanie Ernst looked like she might cry. Oh, she knew. She knew. 😞

The crowd was so quiet that when the tanks passed by, you only heard wheels squeaking and birds chirping. No cheering. No clapping. The onlookers must have been underwhelmed, too.

Short and sweet: tRump’s parade was a bust.

[Irish_Dem]

62. When I was a first grader at a Catholic school we marched better to mass every morning.

Our uniforms were sharp, spit and polished shoes, etc.
And we could walk in unison.

[BattleRow]

64. Did you get demerits if they weren't? I sure did!

[Irish_Dem]

66. We didn't have a demerit system back them.

Nuns took care of things the old fashioned way.

[DV1]

81. From 3rd to 9th in Catholic school

it was like that every day even without a mass.

[Irish_Dem]

82. Right march to recess, march to lunch, march to the buses to go home.

[BattleRow]

97. You vill obey und you vill like it..sometimes in an Irish brogue.

[Irish_Dem]

87. I was shocked they were all in their fatigues.

I thought they would be wearing dress PARADE uniforms.

The Army has all kinds of fancy dress uniforms and specialized flashy uniforms.

[J3AC4]

65. In the interest of Truth Justice and the American way

Where did you see video of solders walking out of step? I have searched and looked at a few videos and can not find any where they are out of step.

[Irish_Dem]

68. It is called straggling I am told.

They are all just walking normally, not marching.
They are in their fatigues, just strolling along out of step.

I will see if I can find the clip.

[Irish_Dem]

72. Here is an article about the bad marching with video:

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/poor-marching-by-us-army-in-trump-parade-draws-internet-ire-fails-to-get-crowds-13123493.html

But some spectators and online commentators pointed out that the parade lacked lustre, crowds, and even the army marched poorly. The last was seen by many as the soldiers' reluctance to participate in the event.
When military men and women in uniform march, they march with tight timing and in lockstep as a sign of pride.

These soldiers couldn’t be further from marching in lockstep.

It’s clear that they don’t want to be a part of Trump’s Dictator Parade — and are just phoning it in.

[Klondike Kat]

74. I'm pretty sure that the Army doesn't have any jets

they've got helicopters, but no jets ("fast movers&quot . Jets are the Air Force, Navy, and Marines.

Now I could be wrong and, if so, please correct me (as gently as you can).

[Irish_Dem]

77. Yes the Army does have fixed wing aircraft.

From the internet:

The US Army does have fixed-wing aircraft, although they are primarily used for support and not combat missions. The Army's fixed-wing fleet includes aircraft like the C-12 Huron, which is used for transport and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. Additionally, the Army operates jet aircraft for VIP transport, such as the UC-35.

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

Limited Fixed-Wing Role: The Army's fixed-wing aviation role is primarily focused on administrative and support missions, rather than combat. This is due to agreements like the Key West Agreement, which outlines the roles and responsibilities of each branch of the military regarding aviation assets.

C-12 Huron:This turboprop aircraft is a key part of the Army's fixed-wing fleet, used for various support missions.

VIP Transport: The Army also operates jet aircraft for transporting VIPs, including the UC-35, which is based on a Cessna business jet.

Electronic Warfare and Intelligence: Some fixed-wing aircraft, like the EO-5, RC-12, and B-300, are used for intelligence collection and electronic warfare.

Was that gentle enough?

[pat_k]

78. To be fair on the jets, I think lightening, not rain, was the concern.

Last edited Sun Jun 15, 2025, 08:31 PM - Edit history (1)

It wasn't just rain. Radar prediction was about 50% chance of t-storms around 7 PM -- at least when I looked around 5. I'm pretty sure planes are designed to withstand lightening strikes, but they can be dangerous and there was no reason to take the risk for a demonstration.

[Irish_Dem]

80. Even if I give him the flyover, the rest of the parade was crap.

And I still think a couple of helicopters could have flown by with very low altitude for one minute.
Geesh.

[sl8]

112. There were quite a few helicopters, both Vietnam era and modern.

I didn't watch the parade and haven't seen a comprehensive list of aircraft that participated

I've seen video of a Cayuse, Hueys & Cobras, representing the Vietnam era.

There were Apaches, Blackhawks and, I think, Chinooks, from the modern era.

As far as fixed wing, all I've seen videos of were the WWII era planes - a B-25, C-47, and some P-51s. I don't know what type dropped the Golden Knights.

I'm sure I'm missing some types.

The only ones that I've read were dropped were the Thunderbirds and the F-22s. There might have been others, though.

[Irish_Dem]

120. There were flyovers of ALL these planes?

Reports said flyovers were cancelled.

[sl8]

121. Those are the ones I've seen video reports of, yes.

As I mentioned, the only reports of cancelled flights I've seen were regarding the USAF Thunderbirds and F-22s.

Where did you see that other flyovers were cancelled?

[Irish_Dem]

123. Various news reports during the day. Flyovers were cancelled due to weather.

Well at least Trump got to see some airplanes.
I have not seen any clips of him looking upward at the sky filled with airplanes.

[DFW]

137. This was Trump, so we had every right to expect aircraft from the 1770s

Since Trump once publicly commented on how General Washington’s troops attacked British airfields in colonial New Jersey (or whichever colony it was).

[sl8]

154. LOL, good point. nt

[Irish_Dem]

145. Trump had a hissy fit, so they threw some damn planes in the air for the toddler.

[sl8]

152. But it was the AIr Force planes that Trump specifically requested that ended up not participating.

I believe the Thunderbirds and F-22s, which ended up being cancelled, were added because Trump wanted them. As far as I know, the Army aircraft involved had been in the plans for a while. Have you seen something different?

Here's one story that mentions the addition of the Air Force planes, I had seen others, as well:

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/make-great-tv-donald-trump-parade-wanted/story?id=122821886

[Irish_Dem]

157. USAF also being passive aggressive? Saying yes then refusing to fly.

Military pilots still pissed off Hegseth put Navy pilots in grave danger.

[sl8]

158. I don't know who made that decision, or why.

The Thunderbirds also cancelled their performance at this year's Air Force Academy graduation ceremony, also due to inclement weather.

It was reported as being unusual. Maybe they've changed their policies? I really don't know.

https://gazette.com/military/in-rarity-thunderbirds-flyover-at-air-force-academy-graduation-canceled/article_bbab540f-cd18-4abd-9e67-22036d863c0f.html

In rarity, Thunderbirds' flyover at Air Force Academy graduation canceled

By O'Dell Isaac [e-mail] May 29, 2025 Updated May 29, 2025

[Irish_Dem]

159. I have watched the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels do low ceiling air shows.

So yes it is odd.

[pat_k]

115. Agreed!

[maxrandb]

83. In the Navy, we had the F18

We used to say; "all weather aircraft - fair weather pilot"

[Irish_Dem]

85. In this case, Army pilots may be pissed that Hegseth sent Navy pilots into a possible ambush.

[Irish_Dem]

90. F18 is a $73 million dollar aircraft. Pilots are going to be very careful.

Top brass does not like it when you crash expensive planes.

The Army had something they could have thrown into the air for a couple of minutes

[MorbidButterflyTat]

88. I think

any of the birds who visit my birdfeeder could outsmart the fugly felon.

[Irish_Dem]

89. Exactly. Was not the toughest mission the Army has ever faced.

[Otterdaemmerung]

139. That's why they call YUGE intellects like Trump "birdbrains"!

[viva la]

101. The army band also--

screeching off key. LOL.

[Irish_Dem]

118. OMG I didn't see/hear that. And the Army has a great band.

They screwed up everything.
On purpose.

[Irish_Dem]

155. The Ohio State Marching Band would have been a hellava lot better.

[Kid Berwyn]

107. Beat him like a Drumpf!

The look on dump's face said it all.

[Irish_Dem]

117. They don't look this sad at state funerals.

[llmart]

128. I am really proud of myself.

I have been able to avoid seeing any pictures of Mrs. Squint Eyes since the takeover of our White House in January. I see that she's just as deliriously happy as she was last time he stole an election. Her mouth looks like she's sucking on a lemon. Also, why is the Orange Imbecile asleep and why can't he ever button his one and only suit coat?

Inquiring minds want to know (NOT!).

[spanone]

108. K&R

[Skittles]

113. playing "Fortunate Son"

that sounds like a big FU to that arrogant, entitled draft dodging piece of SHIT

[Irish_Dem]

116. It's a huge FU. A song about rich kids getting out of the draft, and poor kids sent to be killed.

They let President Bone Spurs with 5 draft deferments know exactly how they felt.

[ms liberty]

126. I have thoughts on the fiasco. First

I don't know who from the administration was involved in the planning, but wow, I'd bet they're persona non grata in the Oval right now!
They did not have enough time to put together an event of this magnitude, they seemed to have no experience in planning a parade or event like this and it was done on the cheap. They were probably given a mandate by their Dear Leader of exactly what had to be in there. The omission of military bands interspersed amongst the creaking, ancient tools of war really needed some live marching bands to lighten up the silence. That was a fatal error.

And then there's the eternal issue, which is the Orange Monster being blindsided by the failure of his grand fantasy. He was flabbergasted by how bad it was, and how few of his devoted fans came out for him. His handlers can't (or won't) tell him the truth because to do so would mean the end of their free and undeserved ride to the top. I expect rage tweeting to commence presently, if it hasn't at this time. Oh and,

[Irish_Dem]

153. But the Army knows how to put on a parade, a good one.

The Army obviously didn't want to put on a good parade.
And yes Trump's people probably screwed it up too.

Yes even dim Trump had to realize what an embarrassment it was.
Yes we shall see how soon he starts rage tweeting.

[Demovictory9]

127. Hegseth is Trump's servant, why didnt he arrange something more spectacular

[Irish_Dem]

143. Because when you fuck over the Army they will fuck you back.

Sorry for the language.

[Tribetime]

130. Drump blasted the weather forecasters saying they all said

100% it was going to rain but there was no rain it was beautiful. It did rain and they forecast for 12 hour peroids in probability of precipitation and I didn't see 100% anywhere. Is there anything he won't lie about.

[MaeScott]

131. They sure did play him, no way they would look bad if not on purpose.

[luvallpeeps]

133. Whatever the case may be,

I never liked the circus. Seeing a majestic animal dressed in a tu-tu, riding a bike disturbed me. Lions jumping through hoops. I don’t care for the zoo either for that matter, but I just think maybe they may not have appreciated being put on display on the faux king”s orders. Just a thought.

[Irish_Dem]

149. Yes. Trump used the military as his dancing bears. The bears refused to dance.

[summer_in_TX]

138. "The Worst Military Parade I've Ever Seen"

I think it may have been something other than malicious non-compliance. They were tired, hungry, had their time wasted all day long waiting around and by the time they marched, they just didn't care any more.

At least, that's what Charlotte Clymer believes and the reasoning seems solid.
https://substack.com/@charlotteclymer/note/p-166008462

Attendees were ruthlessly bottlenecked by the curiously difficult infrastructure, crowd management was scarce (mostly handled by overwhelmed Army officers), the parade route was abysmally designed, and the thought put into public resources—from map graphics to refreshment stations—would have been better handled by Pre-K teachers.

Snip…

I don’t believe this was intentional protest for or against anything, but I do believe it was intentional apathy and carelessness, borne out of understandable frustration with being treated like props for the benefit of an egomaniacal toddler.

Snip…

They wore heavy uniforms in the summer humidity (especially the heavy wool uniforms of the colonial era troops, good god). They were on their feet for several hours prior to the beginning of the march. Their comfort was clearly and entirely an afterthought.

Snip…

So, no, I do not believe this was some coordinated protest against Trump or “malicious incompetence” (as has been bandied about online), but I do think the troops who were assigned to march in this damn parade were rightly pissed and too tired to care how they looked.

[Irish_Dem]

148. The US military does their jobs even when they are tired, hungry, and demoralized.

That is why they train, train, train.
It is all automatic in a crisis.

But I agree this could have been a small part of what we saw.
But they could not have been this bad without orders from the top.

[summer_in_TX]

188. This gives me tremendous hope!

🙏

[Irish_Dem]

189. The message could not be more clear. You Eff with the Army, the Army will Eff with you.

[luvallpeeps]

150. Found this on substack

https://open.substack.com/pub/barrygander/p/the-army-is-not-with-trump?r=1ifz1&utm_medium=ios

[Hugin]

160. Occam's razor...

The high maintenance Mussolini touched it, sh*t ensued.

As for the Army. Box, checked. :checkmark:

Unlike all of the socialism countries, here in the US, soldiers have to purchase those fancy parade pants from the highest bidder thanks to decades of Republican penny pinching. Way beyond the means of the average enlisted troopers for a one-off vanity photo op for his would-be highness.

[Irish_Dem]

161. Yes it is obvious. USArmy ticked every box at least twice.

A thing of beauty and impossible not to recognize what they did.

[bluedigger]

162. All this whining about the Air Force's no show at the Army's big event...

And not one word of the Navy's inability to bring a battleship up the Potomac. I'm not even going to address the Space Force not bringing down a Death Star for review...

[Irish_Dem]

163. The Space Force could have at least flown the USS Enterprise over the reviewing stand.

[bluedigger]

166. I hear it squeaks in atmosphere.

I seriously heard one guy talk about it being so quiet you could hear the tank tires on the pavement. Tank tires...

[JohnnyRingo]

170. I have since seen that. I'm going to delete.

I also noticed that they sent their US Army Band Latin Ensemble.
There's stick in the eye.

[sl8]

171. I missed the Latin Band Ensemble, thanks.

Ordinarily, I'd delete my post at this point. This time, I'll leave it up, at least for now, for the benefit of other folks that think there were no bands in the parade.

[ECL213]

167. How do you make a tank look weak?

Did they use the short barrels?

Did they stick googly eyes on the front?

Were they painted Cheeto orange?

Did they just sport Trump flags?

[Irish_Dem]

186. They were squeaking along, one by one, looking weak and small.

Nothing like the Russian and Chinese parades.

[DFW]

168. This was the only unit that didn't get featured in any of the video clips from Saturday:

[Irish_Dem]

182. Totally brilliant. Now this would have been a show to remember.

[Pacifist Patriot]

174. I'm an Army brat. I've seen military parades on bases for Independence Day and Flag Day.

They could have looked sharp if they'd wanted to.

[Irish_Dem]

181. Of course they could have looked sharp. They didn't want to.

Glad to have an USArmy kid weigh in on the topic.

I am an USAF kid and I don't ever remember any parades on base.

In the summer, the base commander let us take a tour on the flight line and look at the inside
of all the military aircraft, and we got ice cream. That was it.

[Crowman2009]

175. As a former Marine, I only watched a few seconds of the so-called marching.

Otherwise I would be screaming "COVER, ALIGN, GET IN STEP, KEEP YOUR HEAD STRAIGHT" among other salty things all day.

My senior drill instructor said something one day when we kept fucking up on the parade deck during practice at MCRD San Diego that still resonates with me, he said: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

And then it was off to the sea shell covered pit for push ups.

[Irish_Dem]

180. I can imagine some NCO's would be cussing up a storm watching the shit marching display on Saturday.

Ouch on the seashell push up pit.

I am an USAF kid, I don't think anyone got punished for bad marching.

[johnnyfins]

177. Dont know if this was mentioned

But the big thing missing was an actual PARADE GROUND.

[Irish_Dem]

179. Someone else mentioned the cramped space hampering the parade optics.

Yes a parade ground and larger space would have helped a lot.

Someone pointed out that is why Russia, China, NK have much better looking parades.
They have huge squares which shows off the troops and tanks much better.

[johnnyfins]

183. Exactly. We don't have that here.

Our military is supposed to be for defense only. Definitely not for a propaganda photo op.

[Irish_Dem]

185. Yes, exactly. They are not dancing bears for the dictator, so he can show off and preen.

[Owens]

187. I noticed the out of sync marching as well

Thought it was odd, I'm glad someone else noticed it!

[Paladin]

192. I looked upon the sloppy marching as a bonus.

It was exactly the sort of performance that trump deserved.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

190. The squeaky tanks were a great touch

[Irish_Dem]

191. And then soldiers on top of the tanks laughing, waving, smiling.

It was like a homecoming parade.
Not a fierce show of US military might.