Proud soldiers march in a patriotic parade alongside an awesome display of military muscle in front of a supreme leader.
But this was not the scene on the streets of Pyongyang.
US president Donald Trump appeared to follow the example of North Korea by staging an unashamedly nationalistic show to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US Army.
The vanishingly rare exhibition of pomp on the streets of Washington DC coincided with the president’s 79th birthday.
The event was the first time tanks had rolled through the streets of the capital in more than 30 years with a smiling Mr Trump saying: “We want to show off a little bit.”
A smiling Mr Trump saluted his ranks as he watched alongside First Lady Melania and defence secretary Pete Hegseth as troops and hardware filed past, accompanied by up-tempo rock music.
The brash event saw Apaches, Chinooks and Black Hawk helicopters fly overhead as parachutists from the Golden Knights display team swooped in, while soldiers in Second World War era uniforms marched.
The event – criticised as expensive and not in the American tradition – was staged at the same time thousands took to cities across the US in protest of Trump’s administration in coordinated demonstrations called “No Kings”.
Demonstrators held signs calling for Trump to be ousted, accompanied by shouts such as “Trump is a traitor”. In Los Angeles, volleys of tear gas were fired at protesters.
But Mr Trump, America’s commander-in-chief, ignored the dissenters when he spoke at the climax of the army celebration, and doubled down on the show of might by describing America as “the hottest country in the world right now”.
The events took place hours after an act of political violence in Minnesota, where two state lawmakers and their spouses were shot, leaving one couple dead.