Sound of Freedom Act

1/11/2023, 1:32 PM

Sound of Freedom Act

This bill states that it shall be Department of Defense (DOD) policy that flyovers of public events in support of community relations activities may only be flown as part of an approved training mission at no additional expense to the federal government.

The Adjutant General of a state in which an Army National Guard or Air National Guard unit is based shall be the approval authority for all Air National Guard and Army National Guard flyovers in that state, including any flyover request in any civilian domain at a non-aviation related event.

DOD shall maintain records of flyover requests and approvals in a publicly accessible database updated annually.

"Flyover" means aviation support:

  • in which a straight and level flight limited to one pass by a single military aircraft, or by a single formation of four or fewer military aircraft of the same type, from the same military department over a predetermined point on the ground at a specific time;
  • that does not involve aerobatics or demonstrations; and
  • that uses bank angles of up to 90 degrees if required to improve spectator visibility of the aircraft.
Congress
114

Number
HR - 4492

Introduced on
2016-02-08

# Amendments
0

Sponsors
+5

Cosponsors
+5

Variations and Revisions

2/8/2016

Status of Legislation

Bill Introduced
Introduced to House
House to Vote
Introduced to Senate
Senate to Vote

Purpose and Summary

Sound of Freedom Act

This bill states that it shall be Department of Defense (DOD) policy that flyovers of public events in support of community relations activities may only be flown as part of an approved training mission at no additional expense to the federal government.

The Adjutant General of a state in which an Army National Guard or Air National Guard unit is based shall be the approval authority for all Air National Guard and Army National Guard flyovers in that state, including any flyover request in any civilian domain at a non-aviation related event.

DOD shall maintain records of flyover requests and approvals in a publicly accessible database updated annually.

"Flyover" means aviation support:

  • in which a straight and level flight limited to one pass by a single military aircraft, or by a single formation of four or fewer military aircraft of the same type, from the same military department over a predetermined point on the ground at a specific time;
  • that does not involve aerobatics or demonstrations; and
  • that uses bank angles of up to 90 degrees if required to improve spectator visibility of the aircraft.
Alternative Names
Official Title as IntroducedTo provide for the approval authority for National Guard flyovers, and for other purposes.

Policy Areas
Armed Forces and National Security

Potential Impact
Aviation and airports
Congressional oversight
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Military education and training
Military readiness
National Guard and reserves

Comments

Recent Activity

Latest Summary6/2/2016

Sound of Freedom Act

This bill states that it shall be Department of Defense (DOD) policy that flyovers of public events in support of community relations activities may only be flown as part of an approved training missio...


Latest Action3/4/2016
Referred to the Subcommittee on Readiness.