Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that the US Army would not investigate two pilots’ apparently unauthorized visit to the popular musician’s house in Tennessee.
Irresponsible behavior is usually taken very seriously among military personnel, particularly personnel operating combat aircraft. The most common way to get one’s pilot certification revoked is to “operate an aircraft carelessly or recklessly,” Aviation Week reported earlier this month
In 2016, four US Air Force pilots from the 74th Fighter Squadron were grounded and disciplined after flying lower than authorized, below 500 feet, over Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2018, two naval pilots died in a T-45C crash, which a subsequent US Navy investigation attributed to reckless flying.
It was perhaps with these incidents in mind that the US Army grounded the crew of two AH-64 Apache helicopters that conducted an apparently unauthorized “flyby” of the residence of popular musician Kid Rock outside Nashville, Tennessee, on Saturday. Rock (real name Robert Ritchie) was seen in a viral video saluting the helicopters that flew overhead his home, which he has dubbed the “Southern White House.”
The Kid Rock Flyby and Its Aftermath
The two helicopters, attached to the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, were operating from Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
“The personnel involved have been suspended from flight duties while the Army reviews the circumstances surrounding the mission, including compliance with relevant FAA regulations, aviation safety protocol, and approval requirements,” Maj. Montrell Russell, an Army spokesperson, said on Tuesday. “The Army takes any allegations of unauthorized or unsafe flight operations very seriously and is committed to enforcing standards and holding personnel accountable.”
Later that same day, however, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that the helicopter crews wouldn’t face disciplinary measures—or even an investigation.
President Donald Trump also weighed in on the incident, telling reporters on Tuesday that the pilots “probably shouldn’t have been doing it” and that he would look into it.
“Well, they probably shouldn’t have been doing it, yes, you’re not supposed to be playing games,” Trump said. “I’ll take a look at it. They like Kid Rock, I like Kid Rock. Maybe they were trying to defend him. I don’t know.”
This Isn’t Hegseth’s First Time Overruling the Army
The helicopter incident appears to be the most recent incident in a more enduring pattern of Hegseth overruling Army subordinates. The New York Times reported on Monday that Hegseth had “repeatedly clashed with the Army secretary, Daniel P. Driscoll, over personnel and administrative decisions.”
Most recently, that included Hegseth’s decision to block the promotions of four US Army officers to the rank of brigadier general. Some observers noted that of the four officers blocked in this fashion, two were Black and two were women. No white men were denied promotion.
The Helicopters May Have Also Buzzed a Political Protest
The two helicopter gunships may have also flown over an anti-Trump “No Kings” protest on Saturday in Nashville—an action that some on the ground described as “intimidation,” The New York Times added.
The incident may have merely been a training flight, but the timing has come into question.
“That’s taxpayer dollars right there,” Sandra Sepulveda, a Nashville councilwoman who was at the protest and saw the helicopters, told the paper. “They could have chosen any other place, any other time to do a training exercise. So why was it this location specifically?”
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
