For the last 40 years, the Pentagon has seen each president out the door with a farewell tribute.
In 2017 that included a salute from a military band, a review of troops, and a long line of military leaders stepping forward to praise President Obama.
They thanked Obama for the care he had demonstrated for the troops, for his strategic thinking, and for his work with NATO and other allied military organizations.
Pentagon leaders also surprised Obama by awarding him the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.
President Reagan turned the ceremony at Camp Springs, Maryland, into a celebration of the younger men and women in uniform.
Basking in the post-Cold War peace, Reagan noted that America had at last shed its post-Vietnam feelings about the military.
“The luster has been restored to the reputation of our fighting forces after a time during which it was shamefully fashionable to deride or even condemn service such as yours. Those days will never come again.”
But for the first time since Reagan took office, the Pentagon is skipping the whole thing.
Donald Trump is not getting a military farewell ceremony.
As Defense One reports, Vice President Mike Pence is off deliver weekend remarks to a group of sailors at a Naval Air Station, then he will drop by Fort Drum to extol all the achievements of the last four years to a group of soldiers.
And that’s it.
It’s not clear if this no-ceremony is not being held by the Pentagon’s request or whether Trump has put the military on his hate list for failing to fly in and fight on the side of insurrectionists.
In past years the ceremony has been held ahead of the date on which Trump’s beloved “very special” people stormed the Capitol, so it may just be that Trump was too caught up in coup planning to get around to this event.
Whatever the reason, troops may be relieved of having to stand to attention one last time for Trump.