A month after Army aviators (briefly) sparked an investigation into their motives for doing a fly-by at Kid Rock‘s Nashville estate, the “Devil Without a Cause” rapper was sitting in the actual gunner’s seat of an Apache helicopter on Monday (April 28) for a fly-around promoted on socials by Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth.
“Joined my friend @KidRock — and some of our great @USArmy Apache pilots — for a ride this morning. (More to come on that!),” wrote Hegseth of X in a post that included pictures of Rock and the Secretary posing with troops on the tarmac, but not actual footage or images from the flight. “Kid Rock is a patriot and huge supporter of our troops. The War Department is wasting no time celebrating America’s 250th — home of the free because of the brave.”
Comments on the post included one in which a person suggested that the fly around violated Army Reg 95-1 and DoD 4515.3, which state, “Army aircraft will be utilized for authorized purposes only. Army owned, operated, or controlled aircraft will only be used to transport Army personnel, government property, other official government passengers, or other passengers and cargo as authorized by statute and DOD issuances, or Army Directives, regulations, or policies … Also, air travel must be the most economical mode of transportation consistent with the accomplishment of the military mission, and the particular aircraft to be utilized must be the least costly one available that is capable of satisfying the transportation requirement.”
The latter notes that space-available passenger transportation is extended to: “Uniformed services members and their dependents as an avenue of relief from the demands of duty and prolonged service,” or retired uniformed services members and their families in recognition of their career of duty or other “designated individuals,” on a limited basis, for their “direct service to uniformed services members and their families.” The rules also state that other non-military passengers, including “invited travelers” may ride on military vehicles if invited by the “concerned DoD Component head.”
The flight came at a time when military hardware is increasingly strained due to Pres. Trump’s war in Iran and the jet fuel used to gas up Apaches — which is already in short supply — has jumped in price by more than 55% due to the war and the attendant blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, where both Iran and the U.S. are restricting travel through the Strait.
According to the Associated Press, Rock landed at Fort Belvoir in Virginia at 6:30 a.m. and after 1 p.m. an U.S. Army AH-64 Apache took off and did a “few loops” over the base, landing 10 minutes later.
The DoD rules allow for public affairs flights if given “high-level approval,” which it is fair to assume Hegseth was cleared to give, though Apache helicopters are combat aircraft and not configured for passenger flights. Another commenter wondered about the taxpayer dollars spent on the PR flight on one of the most advanced and expensive helicopters in the U.S. arsenal, which the AP reported costs up to $7,000 per flight hour at a time when many Americans are struggling to fill their gas tanks due to a nearly 40% increase in prices at the pump due to Trump’s Iran war.
The official X press account of frequent Trump agitator California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote, “why are taxpayers paying to fly Kid Rock around on $100 million helicopters?” The AP also noted that Apaches typically have a two-person crew who can both fly the vehicle, with one typically focusing on managing the weapons systems, meaning a passenger would replace one of those crewmembers. In that case, it appears that Hegseth and Rock (born Robert Ritchie) would not have flown in the same aircraft at the same time.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said that Rock flight was in support of a “community relations event” tied to the White House’s Freedom 250 initiative, part of the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations. “Robert ‘Kid Rock’ Ritchie participated in multiple troop touches with service members and filmed videos for Memorial Day, America’s 250th birthday, and for his Freedom 250 tour,” Parnell said in a statement.
In March, Army aviators did a fly-by at Rock’s Nashville estate, while also flying over a “No Kings” protest against Trump that day in Nashville, which raised questions about whether those flights were authorized. After initially saying it would investigate the maneuvers by the 101st Airborne Division and suspending the pilots, Hegseth intervened and shut down the probe.
Rock’s latest stunt comes after he faced widespread mockery from the left in February for a bizarre shitless workout video filmed with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promoting the health secretary’s MAHA agenda.
