DAILY TRIFECTA+: Goose Steps Into A Parade
Honk if it's fascism
THE SET-UP: What the Hell are we watching … The Triumph Of The Shrill?
This week’s celebration of Our Glorious Leader and the birthday he’s sharing with the US Army is one long reality show reboot of history’s most influential propaganda film. It began with a mendacious, vitriolic speech at Fort Bragg where Our Glorious Leader bragged about re-renaming the fort, denounced a laundry list of foes and congratulated himself for rescuing America. It was delivered against a tableau of soldiers vetted for their appearance and their allegiance to Our Glorious Leader.
But that’s just the foreground. He’s populated the background with rioters waving Mexico’s flag and fear-inducing raids by masked goons at car washes, massage parlors and churches. He’s setting the stage for a grand finale in DC this Saturday when, weather permitting, Our Glorious Leader will conflate himself with the state and the military. It will be a tin-pot spectacle some, like Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), have preemptively compared to dictatorships and banana republics.
If it does happen as planned, it will be a triumphant moment for the star of a show he’s also producing and directing. And although Donnie Riefenstahl doesn’t demonstrate the innovative techniques and groundbreaking artistry that made Leni Riefenstahl’s Nazi-marred history “complicated,” he is demonstrating the inherent adaptability of fascist politics.
At its core, fascism is a political religion. It depends upon the nationalization of a mythology, the sacralization of the party and the anointing of a demigod-like leader through which the nation manifests its destiny. It is revolutionary insofar as it is a revolt against domestic and international forces that conspire to deny the nation its rendezvous with greatness.
Grievance is an organizing principle. Irredentism, revanchism and cultural restoration are common themes … while the new, the erudite and the cosmopolitan are common enemies. Always there are enemies and the threat is existential. Fascists want to “save” the nation by restoring the in-group to its rightful place in both the national and international order. The fate of the in-group and the nation are perceived as inseparable.
That mythic link makes it a powerful source of meaning for its participants, who are largely drawn from socially, culturally and economically disaffected segments of the polity—like the disillusioned war veterans of interwar Italy, Germany and Japan. Fascism's political appeal to the disaffected is rooted in its highly adaptable template of in-group chosen-ness. Outsiders can be transformed into insiders nearly overnight by joining the party or by sharing an ideological, racial or ethic identity. It doesn’t have to be racial or ethnic, though. There are many ways to define Us and demonize Them.
That adaptability makes it a persistent and potent political force. In the Axis Powers, it was married to occultic Aryanism, to state Shintoism and to vague notions of the New Roman Man. It can be married to any religious, cultural or historical idea that unites an in-group and defines them against the shared ideas or traits of perceived enemies—like “wokeism" or “globalism” or “illegals” or “radical Left lunatics.” Whatever they are, those differences always pose an existential threat to the destined greatness of the nation. Loss of identity and culture loom large. Art and history are purified. And the party and/or the leader are sold as the nation’s only chance to restore greatness.
FWIW, that’s my understanding of fascism after a couple years of comparative analysis of the three Axis Powers and their historical arcs from unification in the 19th Century to the start of WWII. When I applied it to Trump’s first incarnation as President, I did see pre-cancerous polyps in the colon of the body politic, but I thought January 6th removed those polyps. I was wrong. They metastasized.
But there is a far simpler test … if it honks like a goose, steps like a goose and parades like a goose … it’s probably a goose. - jp
TITLE: Bragg Soldiers Who Cheered Trump's Political Attacks While in Uniform Were Checked for Allegiance, Appearance
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/06/11/bragg-soldiers-who-cheered-trumps-political-attacks-while-uniform-were-checked-allegiance-appearance.html
EXCERPTS: It was supposed to be a routine appearance, a visit from the commander in chief to rally the troops, boost morale and celebrate the Army's 250th-birthday week, which culminates with a Washington, D.C., parade slated for Saturday.
Instead, what unfolded Tuesday at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, bore little resemblance to the customary visit from a president and defense secretary. There, President Donald Trump unleashed a speech laced with partisan invective, goading jeers from a crowd of soldiers positioned behind his podium -- blurring the long-standing and sacrosanct line between the military and partisan politics.
As Trump viciously attacked his perceived political foes, he whipped up boos from the gathered troops directed at California leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom -- amid the president's controversial move to deploy the National Guard and Marines against protesters in Los Angeles -- as well as former President Joe Biden and the press. The soldiers roared with laughter and applauded Trump's diatribe in a shocking and rare public display of troops taking part in naked political partisanship.
For this story, Military.com reached out to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's office as well as the Army and the 82nd Airborne Division directly with a series of questions that ranged from the optics of the event to social media posts showing the sale of Trump campaign merchandise on the base, to the apparent violation of Pentagon policies on political activity in uniform.
Internal 82nd Airborne Division communications reviewed by Military.com reveal a tightly orchestrated effort to curate the optics of Trump's recent visit, including handpicking soldiers for the audience based on political leanings and physical appearance. The troops ultimately selected to be behind Trump and visible to the cameras were almost exclusively male.
One unit-level message bluntly said "no fat soldiers."
"If soldiers have political views that are in opposition to the current administration and they don't want to be in the audience then they need to speak with their leadership and get swapped out," another note to troops said.
Service officials declined to comment when asked about the extent to which troops were screened, whether soldiers displaying partisan cheers on television -- a violation of long-standing Pentagon rules -- would be disciplined or if soldiers who objected to participating in the event, citing disagreements with the administration, would be disciplined or admonished in any way.
"This has been a bad week for the Army for anyone who cares about us being a neutral institution," one commander at Fort Bragg told Military.com on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation. "This was shameful. I don't expect anything to come out of it, but I hope maybe we can learn from it long term."
Adding to the spectacle, a pop-up shop operated by 365 Campaign, a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based retailer that sells pro-Trump and other conservative-coded memorabilia, was set up on-site with campaign-style merchandise on Army property. Soldiers were seen purchasing clothing and tchotchkes, including "Make America Great Again" chain necklaces to faux credit cards labeled "White Privilege Card: Trumps Everything."
Permitting the sale of overtly partisan merchandise on an Army base likely runs afoul of numerous Defense Department regulations aimed at preserving the military's long-standing commitment to political neutrality. The Army has historically gone to great lengths to avoid even the appearance of partisanship.
Trump used much of his speech to slam California Democrats and tout his ongoing and unprecedented surge of nearly 5,000 federalized Guard soldiers and Marines to quell immigration protests.
Trump is far from the first president to use the troops as a backdrop for a speech that had political notes. But experts say this speech crossed a line and showed the military's ethics can be vulnerable.
"What I think is so remarkable about Bragg is that it's really a breakdown on the military side," Risa Brooks, an expert of civil-military relations at Marquette University, told Military.com.
"It shows it's possible -- that the military's professional ethics could fail," she said.
"Once you see one instance of this happening, it potentially normalizes it," Brooks warned. "It opens the door to more instances and more overt violations of the nonpartisan ethic."
TITLE: Trump’s Military Parade Will Be Brought to You by Big Tech
https://gizmodo.com/trumps-military-parade-will-be-brought-to-you-by-big-tech-2000614990
EXCERPTS: Donald Trump is finally getting the military parade that he’s always wanted, and Big Tech is helping to make it happen. Over the weekend, the Trump administration will host a “grand military parade” to celebrate the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday, the first of a number of events that will culminate in a pseudo-semiquincentennial celebration next year. And as The Verge pointed out, several tech giants are throwing in their financial support behind the effort.
According to a press release from the America250 Foundation, the congressionally appointed nonprofit organization designated to handle the securing of funding for all of the planned festivities, companies including Oracle, Coinbase, Palantir, and Amazon have all signed on as “landmark corporate commitments” for the cause. The organization also said that “Many of these sponsors will support the upcoming grand military parade being held in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, June 14,” though it did not confirm which companies will specifically put their money and potentially name on the show of military strength.
Gizmodo reached out to Amazon, Palantir, and Oracle for comment on their commitments, including whether they will provide financial support for or will have a presence at the “grand military parade,” as none of the companies have outwardly advertised their involvement. Coinbase has been less quiet about its role. As The Verge reported earlier this month, Coinbase’s chief policy officer, Faryar Shirzad, announced on stage at the 2025 Bitcoin Conference that the company will be a “major sponsor of the America250 effort.”
All of the tech companies that were named by the America250 Foundation as corporate backers have ties to the Army and to the Trump administration, so there’s no reason for them to be shy about backing a military parade if that is their intention.
Amazon has a number of contracts with the Army, and the company’s founder and executive chair, Jeff Bezos, gave $1 million to Trump’s inauguration. Oracle also has plenty of business with the Army and the Defense Department, and founder and chairman Larry Ellison is a close friend of Trump. Palantir has lots of military ties, calling its own technology the “connective tissue” for the Army’s operations, and CEO Alex Karp has become a major Trump backer. Coinbase gave $1 million to Trump’s inauguration and recently added former Secretary of the Army Mark Esper to its advisory board.
TITLE: Military brace: Tanks to roll through DC for Army's 250th birthday parade despite damage concerns
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/investigations/army-250-birthday-celebration-abrams-tanks-bradley-fighting-vehicles-president-donald-trump-dc/65-fc06e3b7-fe39-45d4-8610-94e5b77ff4ac
EXCERPTS: Twenty-eight M1 Abrams battle tanks will rumble through the nation's capital for the Army's 250th birthday celebration, part of a massive military parade on June 14 that critics warn could inflict millions of dollars in damage to District streets.
The 68-ton tanks, among 150 military vehicles scheduled to parade down Constitution Avenue, represent the Army's most lethal battlefield weapons — and potentially its most destructive to city infrastructure. The massive procession will also feature 50 aircraft, 34 horses, two mules, one dog and 6,600 soldiers from every Army division.
But it's the tanks drawing the most attention from critics. So WUSA9 obtained exclusive access to the Army's damage prevention plan at Fort Cavazos, Texas, where soldiers demonstrated the vehicles' overwhelming size and power during live-fire training exercises.
"That is one of the most important but also lethal weapons systems on the battlefield," said Col. Kamil Sztalkoper, director of public affairs for III Armored Corps at Fort Cavazos.
The military parade, ordered by President Donald Trump, has rekindled debates over using heavy armor in urban environments. Gabe Klein, former transportation director for Washington and Chicago, estimates the convoy could cause up to $10 million in street damage in a worst-case scenario.
The Army acknowledges potential damage but promises minimal impact through protective measures. Soldiers will attach 2-and-a-half inch thick rubber track pads to the tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles, designed to cushion contact with asphalt. Metal plates will cover parts of the parade route, and vehicle speeds will be limited to 3 mph.
"I know the precautions that we have taken — the one-inch steel pads at the turns, the track pads, the offset distance, I think that's going to mitigate any potential impacts," Sztalkoper said.
However, this marks the first time such heavy armor will traverse extended city streets like Constitution Avenue since the 1991 parade celebrating the end of the Gulf War, raising questions about whether protective measures will prove sufficient.
The Army will deploy 28 Bradley fighting vehicles alongside the Abrams tanks. While lighter than the main battle tanks, the tracked vehicles still pose risks to street surfaces designed for civilian traffic.
Military officials plan to stagger the tanks and Bradley vehicles during the parade to distribute weight across Constitution Avenue. The convoy will also avoid the Memorial Bridge, addressing concerns from structural engineers about the span's capacity.
The Army is coordinating with multiple agencies to assess infrastructure and prevent damage. Officials are working with local law enforcement, National Park Service, District Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Park Police and DC Water to evaluate roads and bridges along the parade route.
Steel plates measuring 4-by-8 feet and 8-by-20 feet will be positioned at pivot points throughout the route. All vehicles will be equipped with new rubber tracks designed to minimize surface contact pressure.
The estimated $45 million parade budget reportedly includes millions earmarked for potential street repairs. The Army has pledged to reimburse the District for any widespread road damage, though the city would need to recoup those funds from the federal government over time.
Past military parades have required extensive street repairs. The 1991 Gulf War victory parade in Washington caused significant damage despite similar protective measures, leading to costly reconstruction projects.
Transportation experts note that modern city streets, designed for cars and trucks, lack the reinforcement needed for tracked military vehicles. The repeated pressure from tank treads can crack asphalt and damage underground utilities even with protective measures.
The Army's commitment to damage reimbursement may provide financial protection for the District, but questions remain about timeline and scope of any repair obligations.
TITLE: Here’s everything headed to DC for the Army’s 250th birthday parade
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/tanks-helicopters-bombers-dc-army-birthday/
Here’s a list of the equipment that the Army is bringing in and using for the parade:
World War II
Two M4 Sherman tanks
One North American B-25 Mitchell bomber
Four P-51 Mustangs
One Douglas C-47 Skytrain
One M4 Tractor
One CCKW 2.5-ton truck
One 37mm anti-tank Gun
Six WWII-era Jeeps
Three M151 Jeeps
Two M35A2 2½-ton cargo trucks
One M274 Mule utility truck
Current Army vehicles
26 M1 Abrams tanks
28 Bradley Fighting Vehicles
27 Stryker vehicles
Four M109 Paladins (self-propelled Howitzers)
Five Joint Light Tactical Vehicles
Seven M777 lightweight Howitzers
Nine M119 smaller Howitzers
Multiple variants of crew-served mounted weapons on different vehicles
17 Infantry Squad Vehicles
One HIMARS battery with six trucks
One MH-6 Little Bird helicopter, a small troop-transport helicopter used by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment
One AH-6 Light Attack helicopter, the 160th SOAR’s gunship version of a Little Bird
One MH-60 helicopter from the 160th
One MH-60L DAP (Direct Air Penetrator) helicopter, the 160th’s gunship version of the MH-60
17 Black Hawk helicopters
18 Apache helicopters
10 Chinook helicopters
Four Bell UH-1 Iroquois or ‘Huey’ helicopters
Two Bell AH-1 Cobra helicopters
One Hughes OH-6 Cayuse helicopter
One Renault tank (a French-made light tank primarily used during WWI)
34 horses
An Australian Blue Heeler dog named Doc Holliday, who is part of the 1st Cavalry Division’s Horse Cavalry Detachment
Additionally, 64 aircraft will fly over D.C., including modern-day Chinooks, Apaches, Blackhawks, and historic bombers.