Washington on ‘tank watch’ as military vehicles roll…

Washington on ‘tank watch’ as military vehicles roll in for Fourth of July

Mounted US park police pass by an armored Bradley fighting vehicle near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, on 3 July. — Mounted US park police pass by an armored Bradley fighting vehicle near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC on 3 July. Photograph: Erik S Lesser/EPA

Donald Trump’s fervent desire to have a show of military strength as part of the Fourth of July celebration in Washington DC is set to take the form of tanks in the capital and jets flying overhead.

Aside from triggering a flood of scathing criticism from many observers, the plans have also led to some last minute logistical scrambling. It’s easy to imagine how the jets will get there, but what about the tanks?

That has seen Washingtonians engage in an intense bout of surveillance to spot any incoming tanks. Where would they come from and where exactly would they drive during the event? Would they even be able to get to the capital in the first place?

Washington is now playing a game of “tank watch” and notching up some successful spottings. Two tanks and a number of support vehicles being carried on a train were identified Tuesday morning just outside the city.

Found ‘em! 5 military tanks on train tracks in southeast DC for the 4th of July celebrations pic.twitter.com/Nv8aTgR0no
— Elizabeth Landers (@ElizLanders) July 2, 2019

TANKS ON A TRAIN - here are the combat vehicles @POTUS says will be at this year’s Fourth Of July celebration on the National Mall. 2 M1s, a support vehicle, and two other combat vehicles currently on CSX tracks in southeast DC. @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/F1dOqLUbD7
— Drew Wilder (@DrewWilderTV) July 2, 2019

Elsewhere over the course of the day, other tanks, or perhaps the same ones (it’s hard to tell at this point) were attempting to cross the Potomac River, not exactly a typical occurrence.

Yep. That’s a TANK crossing the Potomac River for the first time in...well...ever??? #4thofjuly2019 #SaluteToAmerica ⁦@wusa9⁩ pic.twitter.com/IQB6wYAkNA
— Eric Flack (@EricFlackTV) July 3, 2019

Another tank was spotted on Tuesday night being ferried through the streets outside the Nationals ballpark.

Just left the Nats game, and we were greeted by Trump's tanks rolling through just outside the ballpark @fox5dc @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/O9VmDGFoMY
— Cole (@eloc8) July 3, 2019

Travel logistics aren’t the only thing being figured out last minute in the run up to the event. Officials in Washington DC are beginning to question whether or not the city’s roads and bridges and monument spaces would be able to support such heavy vehicles.

One detail you might have missed in our July 4th story: engineers are examining if the weight of stationing tanks will damage the Lincoln Memorial’s underground rooms. Those are the ones Zinke often liked to tour frequently w/ guests @jdawsey1 @DanLamothe https://t.co/G4k3qg5ZTO
— Juliet Eilperin (@eilperin) July 2, 2019

“My colleagues and I had to fight for years to secure funding to repair structural defects in Arlington Memorial Bridge, over which tens of thousands of my constituents commute every day,” Virginia representative Don Beyer wrote on Twitter. “It has a weight-limit of 10 tons; an Abrams tank weighs over 60 tons.”

Trump himself seems to accept this, though his knowledge of military equipment also seems lacking.

“You’ve got to be pretty careful with the tanks, because the roads have a tendency not to like to carry heavy tanks so we have to put them in certain areas,” Trump said of the planning. “But we have the brand new Sherman tanks and we have the brand new Abrams tanks.”

It was not clear what Trump was referring to as Sherman tanks have been out of use by the military for decades.

By late Tuesday night a number of tanks were photographed parked near the Lincoln Memorial.

LAST NIGHT: Tanks arrive on the National Mall in D.C. for President Trump's Fourth of July celebration. pic.twitter.com/v0SljwPtk3
— The Hill (@thehill) July 3, 2019

It was an exciting display for supporters of Trump.

“When you see those tanks rolling into your city, down into DC, it gets you fired up, it gets you excited because you think about our military and that represents America,” Fox & Friends’ Ainsley Earhardt said this morning.

Others were not quite so easily impressed.