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Pentagon grapples with how to move tanks from a Washington rail yard to the National Mall
Military
Pentagon grapples with how to move tanks from a Washington rail yard to the National Mall
By Dan Lamothe, Reporter covering the Pentagon and the U.S. military
July 2 at 7:11 PM
Michael Rollinson rolled around a banked curve on Washington’s Anacostia Riverwalk Trail on his bicycle Tuesday, coming to a stop on a path overlooking train tracks. He’d found his target for pictures: tanks and other hulking military vehicles sitting below on rail cars. ... Rollinson, a District resident, made the trip on a steamy afternoon after hearing on television that the tanks had arrived in Washington as part of an expanded Fourth of July celebration ordered by President Trump. Rollinson said when he learned that the tanks were stashed at a CSX yard in Southeast Washington, he figured he might be able to see them from the bicycle path. (1)
“It’s a little over the top,” Rollinson said, speaking over the screech of steel as a train rolled by on a track below. “A lot of things the president does are a little over the top. But I think military hardware is cool, so I’m interested in it. I understand a lot of people aren’t, and I understand the reservations other people have. I respect that.”
[Park Service diverts $2.5 million in fees for Trump’s July Fourth extravaganza]
The scene captured the unusual nature of what is to come: Tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles will be trucked to the Mall to be displayed during an extravaganza that also will feature appearances by military bands, drill teams and a rare collection of aircraft that is expected to include the B-2 stealth bomber and the F-22 fighter.
But perhaps no part of the event has polarized people more than the use of two M1A2 Abrams tanks, which weigh about 70 tons each and were shipped on rail from Fort Stewart in Georgia. Their expected appearance has caused some critics to compare the celebration to something more common in a dictator-led nation such as North Korea, while others express excitement in the planned display of military might.
....
Dan Lamothe joined The Washington Post in 2014 to cover the U.S. military and the Pentagon. He has written about the Armed Forces for more than a decade, traveling extensively, embedding with each service and covering combat in Afghanistan numerous times. Follow https://twitter.com/danlamothe
Pentagon grapples with how to move tanks from a Washington rail yard to the National Mall
By Dan Lamothe, Reporter covering the Pentagon and the U.S. military
July 2 at 7:11 PM
Michael Rollinson rolled around a banked curve on Washington’s Anacostia Riverwalk Trail on his bicycle Tuesday, coming to a stop on a path overlooking train tracks. He’d found his target for pictures: tanks and other hulking military vehicles sitting below on rail cars. ... Rollinson, a District resident, made the trip on a steamy afternoon after hearing on television that the tanks had arrived in Washington as part of an expanded Fourth of July celebration ordered by President Trump. Rollinson said when he learned that the tanks were stashed at a CSX yard in Southeast Washington, he figured he might be able to see them from the bicycle path. (1)
“It’s a little over the top,” Rollinson said, speaking over the screech of steel as a train rolled by on a track below. “A lot of things the president does are a little over the top. But I think military hardware is cool, so I’m interested in it. I understand a lot of people aren’t, and I understand the reservations other people have. I respect that.”
[Park Service diverts $2.5 million in fees for Trump’s July Fourth extravaganza]
The scene captured the unusual nature of what is to come: Tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles will be trucked to the Mall to be displayed during an extravaganza that also will feature appearances by military bands, drill teams and a rare collection of aircraft that is expected to include the B-2 stealth bomber and the F-22 fighter.
But perhaps no part of the event has polarized people more than the use of two M1A2 Abrams tanks, which weigh about 70 tons each and were shipped on rail from Fort Stewart in Georgia. Their expected appearance has caused some critics to compare the celebration to something more common in a dictator-led nation such as North Korea, while others express excitement in the planned display of military might.
....
Dan Lamothe joined The Washington Post in 2014 to cover the U.S. military and the Pentagon. He has written about the Armed Forces for more than a decade, traveling extensively, embedding with each service and covering combat in Afghanistan numerous times. Follow https://twitter.com/danlamothe
(10) Here, maybe?
The Latest: Tanks arrive in DC ahead of July 4 celebration
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