The White House pressed Navy officials to launch 2,000-pound live bombs instead of dummy explosives during its 250th anniversary celebration that President Donald Trump attended, according to a new report.
One person familiar with the planning of the event told the Associated Press White House officials insisted to Navy planners that Trump “needed to see explosions” instead of just a “big splash” during the October 5 demonstration.
Original planning for what the Navy dubbed the Titans of the Sea Presidential Review called for military personnel to use dummies and not live bombs, another person familiar with the Navy’s planning said.
That person would not comment on why the Navy decided to switch to live bombs. The White House said no switch was made.
Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement, “Organizers always planned to use live munitions, as is typical in training exercises.”
The episode is the latest example of the Trump administration turning the military toward the president’s wishes in ways large and small — from summoning generals from around the world to Washington for a day of speeches to his lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
The Navy and other military branches typically use dummy, or inert, bombs for training and demonstrations. Dummies are cheaper than live bombs because they do not contain expensive explosives, fuses and other components. They’re also safer.
Military officials often argue that the use of live ammunition for events such as the 250th birthday celebration also fulfills a training purpose and the ordnance would have been expended anyway at a later date.
The switch required Navy officials to change detailed plans for the Norfolk, Virginia, military demonstration to ensure safety protocols were met, according to the three people familiar with the planning.
The White House pushed forward with the event despite the ongoing government shutdown, which has led nonessential federal workers to be sent home without pay and reduced the operation of many non-critical government services.
Confirmation that the Navy decided to use live bombs instead of dummies at the Naval Base Norfolk event comes as the administration faces scrutiny over an October 18 live fire demonstration at the Marines base Camp Pendleton, in which a misfire of a live artillery round led to shrapnel spraying onto Interstate 5 in Southern California.
No one was injured when shrapnel struck two California Highway Patrol vehicles.
Trump hasn’t been shy about his fondness for pomp and pageantry that celebrate military might.
In his second term, he has pushed the U.S. services to hold big parades and demonstrations, an idea inspired by a Bastille Day parade he attended in France early in his first term.
The Army included tanks in a June parade in Washington, D.C., requested by Trump, to mark its 250 years, which coincided with the president’s 79th birthday.
At the Navy celebration this month in Norfolk, the president and First Lady Melania Trump watched the military demonstration from the deck of an aircraft carrier before Trump delivered a speech in which he criticized his political opponents and attacked Democratic lawmakers.
