Military does more than 1,000 flyovers per year but doesn’t track cost

Flyovers are particularly important for the Navy, Wallach said.  Since the Navy’s primary hardware—their ships—are on the coasts, many Americans do not ever get to see the Navy in action, he said. 

“It’s hard to get a ship into Kansas City, Missouri,” he said.  “We kind of do have an obligation to show taxpayers what they are getting for their investment in the Navy.”   

Especially with today’s all-volunteer force, there are far fewer people with direct contact with the military, Tretler said.

“So, the notion that there are occasions when larger numbers of the American public get to see that there is a military and they appear to be proficient is a good thing,” he said.