US Army suspend pilots after Kid Rock shares video saluting military helicopters flying near his home
The US Army has suspended two of its pilots due to a video posted by Kid Rock, which shows military helicopters flying close to his home in Nashville.
The musician posted a series of videos to X on March 29th, which showed him waving to a helicopter that had flown down to be almost level with his home, overlooking a pool.
A second Apache attack helicopter was then seen passing behind the first and flying past Rock’s home, as he saluted them.
Rock, a prominent supporter of Donald Trump and who stood next to a small replica of the Statue of Liberty in the videos, captioned the first post with: “This is a level of respect that shit for brains Governor of California will never know,” referring to Gavin Newsom.
He added: “God Bless America and all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend her,” along with emojis of the American flag and praying hands.
Military helicopters had been overseeing nearby anti-Trump demonstrations, but the US Army confirmed the following day (March 30th) that it had launched an investigation into the footage.
It said that “appropriate action” would be taken against those involved if standards were found to have been violated, including safety rules and if the planned flight path had been adhered to. The army subsequently confirmed to CBS News that the helicopters were in the sky as part of a training flight.
However, on March 31st, the army then released a subsequent update to say that the two pilots involved in the incident had been suspended, according to NBC News, although no further details were given as to what this will involve going forward.
It comes during the midst of the US’ ongoing war with Iran, with many critics of Rock arguing, given the circumstances, that this was not an appropriate use of military resources.
As one of the US government’s most vocal backers, Rock staged his own alternative half-time show for the Super Bowl on behalf of Turning Point USA. However, he was later forced to clarify that he was not lip-syncing during his pre-recorded performance, claiming instead that he was simply “out of sync”.
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