The US Department of Defense on Thursday said that a Veterans Day military parade ordered up by US President Donald Trump would not happen this year.
The military and the White House “have now agreed to explore opportunities in 2019,” Pentagon spokesman Colonel Rob Manning said.
The announcement came several hours after The Associated Press reported that the parade would cost about US$92 million, according to US officials citing preliminary estimates more than three times the price first suggested by the White House.
The officials were cited as saying that about US$50 million would cover Pentagon costs for aircraft, equipment, personnel and other support for a November parade in Washington; the remainder would be borne by other agencies and largely involve security costs.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss early planning estimates that have not yet been finalized or released publicly.
The parade plans had not yet been approved by US Secretary of Defense James Mattis, the official said.
Mattis late on Thursday said that he had seen no such estimate and questioned the media reports.
He told reporters traveling with him to Bogota that whoever leaked the number to the media 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.
“I’m not dignifying that number 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 No. 2, whoever wrote it needs to get better sources. I’ll just leave it at that,” Mattis said.
The parade’s cost has become a politically charged issue, particularly after the Pentagon canceled a major military exercise with South Korea planned for this month in the wake of Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Trump said the drills were provocative and that dumping them would save the US “a tremendous amount of money.”
The Pentagon later said the South Korea drills would have cost US$14 million.
Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jamie Davis earlier on Thursday said that 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 US 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 also was 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.
It also said there would be “wheeled vehicles only, no tanks — consideration must be given to minimize damage to local infrastructure.”
Earlier this year, the White House budget director told US Congress that the cost to taxpayers could be US$10 million to US$30 million.
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