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Fort Detrick will mark Armed Forces Day today with music, an air show and fireworks, weather permitting.
Armed Forces Day was first observed in 1950 following a proclamation by then-President Harry S. Truman.
It replaced separate days of recognition for the Army, Navy and Air Force, although the Marine Corps and Coast Guard still each observe their own celebrations in addition to Armed Forces Day, according to the Defense Department.
Parking for Fort Detrick’s Armed Forces Day observance is available at Frederick Community College, with attendees able to access the post through the college gate, said Harry Geesaman, of the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation’s Community Recreation Division, in an e-mail Friday.
Attendees are not allowed to bring alcohol on post, although there will be a beer concession. All bags, boxes and coolers brought on post will be subject to search, Chuck Gordon, the post’s spokesman, wrote in an e-mail Friday.
Events including the air show, military displays and vehicles and a DJ start at the Nallin Pond events complex at 10:30 a.m.
Rain or high winds could affect some of the planned events, such as the air show, but as of Friday morning, everything was still going ahead as planned, Geesaman wrote.
“We are sticking to our schedule — mother nature will control what we have or get accomplished tomorrow,” he wrote.
Today’s weather is expected to be mostly sunny in the daytime with highs in the low 70s and winds up to 15 to 18 miles per hour later in the day, according to the National Weather Service. Tonight brings a 30 percent chance of rain.
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fredericknewspost.com

The commander of US forces in Iraq today told the Senate that troop reductions should be indefinitely put on hold for fear of undoing recent security advances.
In testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee General David Petraeus said that a freeze should be imposed from July after the 20,000 additional troops deployed during last year’s surge had been withdrawn.
A 45-day pause would provide an opportunity to evaluate the impact of further withdrawals on the security situation, he said. That period would need to be followed by an open-ended “assessment” phase.
As he spoke fighting raged in Baghdad’s main Shia militia stronghold, while the deaths of 10 American soldiers in a variety of attacks over a three-day period served as a sobering reminder of the cost of the war to US lawmakers.
During the hearing the general was twice interrupted by protestors, one of whom was removed from the chamber after repeatedly chanting, “Bring them home,” prompting applause from some sections.
Gen Petraeus told the hearing that significant progress had been made since the beginning of the troop build-up 15 months ago but cautioned that it remained “fragile and reversible”.
He warned that a rushed withdrawal would allow al-Qaeda and Iran to regain their strength and influence in the country. Iranian support for Shia militia was “the greatest long-term threat to the viability of a democratic Iraq”, he added.
The general also pointed to the recent flare-up of violence by Shia militants in Basra and Baghdad and the operation by Iraqi security forces, which he said had been “disappointing” in logistical terms and demonstrated the need for continued US support.
President Bush has already said he will accept the general’s recommendations and is expected to formally endorse it on Thursday.
Senator Carl Levin, the Democratic chairman of the committee, responded by claiming the recommendation amounted to an “open-ended pause” that would remove pressure on the Iraqi government to take responsibility for their country.

timesonline.co.uk