Kid Rock caused a stir last week when Sec. of Defense Pete Hegseth posted video of the rapper-turned-rocker-turned-MAGA-coded country singer taking a joy ride in a U.S. Army Apache helicopter. At the time, it was unclear what the purpose was of the fly-around in the $52 million piece of military hardware that can cost up to $7,000 an hour to keep in the air.
As it turns out, it was to film a commercial promoting Rock’s Freedom 250 Tour. In videos shared by fans who attended the kick-off of the tour in Dallas over the weekend where the video served to tee-up Rock’s entrance, the singer is seen smoking a stogie on his plane — emblazoned with a middle finger painting on its tail fin — as it lands on a tarmac, where it is met by Hegseth, who rolls up in a long caravan of black government SUVs.
With a giant smile on his face, a shades-wearing Hegseth excitedly greets the singer and gives him a bro hug and daps Rock up as the “Devil Without a Cause” star acts shocked at the military meet cute. “How we doin’ brother?” Hegseth asks, as Rock responds with practiced shock, “Mr. Secretary, what are you doing here, sir?”
“I’m going to your show tonight,” says Hegseth, who department is currently overseeing the war in Iran, which has caused a rapid global spike in fuel and commodities prices due to the stalemate over the closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz, even as it severely strains U.S. military hardware supply chains. “What? No s–t? Awesome, um, well, jump in I’ll give you a ride!”
“I appreciate that, but how about I give you a ride?” Hegseth offers in the stiffly scripted banter that paves the way for shots of a pair of Apaches idling on the tarmac with their rotors turning. Rock raises his hands in triumph as the two men high-five and put on their military cosplay gear to hop in the gunner’s seat of the war machines. The 90-second video ends with footage of the helicopters in flight, though the in-air clips did not actually show either man on board the choppers, but cut to them getting back out of the vehicles at the end and giving each other a warm hug.
“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 last week in a post that included pictures of Rock and the Secretary posing with troops, but no 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.”
At press time a spokesperson for the Defense Department had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment on the official government purpose of the flight or the cost to taxpayers of what appears to have been a promotional stunt to hype Rock’s tour.
Comments on Hegseth’s original post noted one that suggested the fly-by — spoiler alert, despite the video’s script, it does not appear that the flight actually conveyed Rock to his show, but rather was a 10-minute buzz around — may have been in violation of several U.S. Army codes that allow the use of military aircraft only for the “transport of Army personnel, government property [or] other official government passengers.” The DoD rules also allow for public affairs flights if they are signed off on with “high-level approval,” which it’s fair to assume Hegseth was cleared to give, even though Apache helicopters are combat aircraft and not configured for passenger flights.
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 official X press account of frequent Trump critic California Gov. Gavin Newsom asked at the time, “why are taxpayers paying to fly Kid Rock around on $100 million helicopters?” The AP noted that Apaches typically have a two-person crew who can both fly the vehicle, with one focusing on managing the weapons systems, meaning a passenger would replace one of those key crewmembers. In this case, it appears that Hegseth and Rock (born Robert Ritchie) could not have flown in the same aircraft at the same time.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said last week that the 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.
It’s the second Apache encounter for Rock this year, following a fly-by at Rock’s Nashville estate by Army aviators in March, who also buzzed over a “No Kings” protest against Trump that day in Nashville. That flight also raised questions about whether those flights were authorized or had a military purpose. After initially saying it would investigate the maneuvers by the 101st Airborne Division and suspending the pilots involved, Hegseth intervened and shut down the probe.
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