I realize everyone is really upset about this, especially given the historical nature of the fly over, but this denial represents the enforcement of longstanding DoD, not Presidential/ Obama or otherwise policy. Looking at the God and Country mainpage, the primary goal of the festival was evangelism. If the AF supported an evangelical outreach they would also have to support Muslim, Hindu, Scientologist, etc. evangelism events.
For anyone interested here’s the offical AF response:
The guidelines applied by the Air Force that govern the approval process for aircraft flyovers are stipulated by Department of Defense regulations. These guidelines are not the result of new policies directed by any other agency or government office.
Each aviation request received is evaluated and considered on its own merits. In the case of the God and Country Festival, the determination was made that flyover support would not be in accordance with Air Force and DoD policy which prohibits support for events which appear to endorse, selectively benefit, or favor any special interest or religious organization, regardless of the event date.
Several other similar events were determined ineligible this year for the same reasons as the God and Country Festival. The Air Force carefully scrutinizes the purpose and overall missions of those organizations interested in receiving aviation support. Each request is reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine if it’s in the best interest of the Air Force to support and meets all applicable guidelines set forth in both DoD and AF policy.
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