Pete Hegseth Vows to ‘Fix’ Pilot Suspensions After July 4 Apache Fly-By: ‘Carry On ⁠32%

By David Gilmour⁠61%

7/10/2026, 5:39:57 AM

BS Summary: This article contains 21 faulty reasoning types, including Recency Bias, Post Hoc (False Cause), and Negativity Bias, with Confirmation Bias as the most egregious example at 18.5% saturation with 73 hits. Analysis detected 619 faulty-reasoning hits from 395 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 40.9% and a BS Rank of ⁠32% (15,007 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 68.60% of the article peer group.

(Screengrab via X) 
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to “fix” the suspension of eight South Carolina National Guard Apache helicopter pilots after they were grounded after low-altitude flybys over crowded beaches during a July 4 airshow. 
The incident is the second time this year the defense secretary has publicly inserted himself into an Army flight safety review. 
Hegseth weighed in on Thursday night after reports emerged that the pilots had been temporarily suspended from flight duties while their actions during the annual Salute From The Shore event were under review. 
“We’ll fix this,” Hegseth wrote on X. 
“Carry on, Patriots.” 
We’ll fix this. 
Carry on, Patriots. https://t.co/mJXcG7BNDM 
- Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) July 10, 2026 
The pilots, assigned to the South Carolina National Guard’s 1-151st Attack Battalion, were grounded after helicopters flew low over beachgoers along the state’s coastline during the Independence Day celebration. 
Videos of the aircraft passing close to crowds at beaches went viral across social media. 
The annual Salute From the Shore event features military aircraft conducting a flyover along South Carolina’s coast as part of Fourth of July celebrations. 
Hegseth’s intervention comes after Rep. 
Russell Fry (R-SC) also urged military officials to reverse the suspensions. 
It is shameful that a frivolous complaint turned into a suspension for these brave pilots after putting on one of the best Salute From the Shores in history. 
I am urging @SCNationalGuard to drop this meaningless, bogus investigation and swiftly allow these pilots to return to… pic.twitter.com/CsiykQdLex 
- Congressman Russell Fry (@RepRussellFry) July 9, 2026 
Earlier Thursday, the South Carolina National Guard described the suspensions as a “routine, non-punitive” administrative step rather than disciplinary action. 
Update: Salute from the Shore Flyover review: 
To clarify, the temporary flight suspension for our Apache pilots is a routine, non-punitive safety measure – not a disciplinary action. 
These Soldiers remain in good standing with the SCNG and continue daily duties on the ground.… pic.twitter.com/RUX9zqs6Wr 
- SC National Guard (@SCNationalGuard) July 9, 2026 
The move mirrors a similar intervention in March, when Hegseth publicly backed four Apache pilots from the 101st Airborne Division who were grounded after a low fly-by near singer Kid Rock’s Tennessee home. 
The post Pete Hegseth Vows to ‘Fix’ Pilot Suspensions After July 4 Apache Fly-By: ‘Carry On, Patriots!’ 
first appeared on Mediaite . 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 18.5%David Gilmour: 5.1%Mediaite: 5.0%Confirmation Bias18.5%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.2%Mediaite: 0.9%Anchoring Bias0.0%This article: 3.8%David Gilmour: 3.8%Mediaite: 3.8%Availability Heuristic3.8%This article: 8.4%David Gilmour: 0.8%Mediaite: 1.0%Representativeness Heuristic8.4%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.5%Mediaite: 0.7%Hindsight Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 1.0%Mediaite: 2.1%Overconfidence Bias0.0%This article: 10.6%David Gilmour: 10.2%Mediaite: 9.1%Framing Effect10.6%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.2%Mediaite: 0.4%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 5.1%David Gilmour: 0.3%Mediaite: 0.4%Status Quo Bias5.1%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.1%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 0.8%David Gilmour: 1.1%Mediaite: 1.2%Optimism Bias0.8%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 1.2%Mediaite: 1.6%Pessimism Bias0.0%This article: 12.4%David Gilmour: 16.0%Mediaite: 14.7%Negativity Bias12.4%This article: 4.3%David Gilmour: 3.4%Mediaite: 1.6%Self-Serving Bias4.3%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 2.1%Mediaite: 1.7%Fundamental Attribution Error0.0%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.2%Mediaite: 0.3%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 2.3%Mediaite: 2.1%In-Group Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 2.1%Mediaite: 2.0%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 7.1%David Gilmour: 2.0%Mediaite: 1.3%Halo Effect7.1%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 1.3%Mediaite: 0.7%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.1%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 13.7%David Gilmour: 3.1%Mediaite: 2.3%Recency Bias13.7%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.9%Mediaite: 0.6%Primacy Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.1%Mediaite: 0.1%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 4.3%Mediaite: 3.8%Ad Hominem0.0%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 1.6%Mediaite: 1.2%Straw Man0.0%This article: 2.8%David Gilmour: 1.7%Mediaite: 3.5%Appeal to Authority2.8%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 2.2%Mediaite: 2.4%False Dilemma0.0%This article: 4.8%David Gilmour: 2.2%Mediaite: 1.3%Slippery Slope4.8%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.3%Mediaite: 0.3%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 7.1%David Gilmour: 7.0%Mediaite: 7.6%Hasty Generalization7.1%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.5%Mediaite: 0.4%Red Herring0.0%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 1.5%Mediaite: 0.9%Bandwagon0.0%This article: 7.1%David Gilmour: 6.8%Mediaite: 6.6%Appeal to Emotion7.1%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.7%Mediaite: 1.6%Begging the Question0.0%This article: 13.7%David Gilmour: 4.2%Mediaite: 2.9%Post Hoc (False Cause)13.7%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.5%Mediaite: 0.1%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 1.2%Mediaite: 1.2%Burden of Proof0.0%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.1%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.1%Mediaite: 0.3%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 2.2%Mediaite: 3.0%Anecdotal0.0%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.1%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 10.4%David Gilmour: 1.7%Mediaite: 2.8%Ambiguity (Equivocation)10.4%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.1%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.4%Mediaite: 0.3%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.1%Mediaite: 0.1%Special Pleading0.0%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 0.0%Mediaite: 0.6%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 4.8%David Gilmour: 2.5%Mediaite: 3.3%Unattributed Quote4.8%This article: 3.5%David Gilmour: 4.2%Mediaite: 3.2%Quote-first Misdirection3.5%This article: 12.4%David Gilmour: 8.2%Mediaite: 8.3%Biased Writer Voice12.4%This article: 0.8%David Gilmour: 1.0%Mediaite: 1.6%Indoctrination0.8%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 2.7%Mediaite: 2.0%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 4.8%David Gilmour: 0.9%Mediaite: 1.1%Politically Right Leaning Bias4.8%This article: 0.0%David Gilmour: 1.2%Mediaite: 1.4%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…0.0%

395 words analyzed.

Speakers

4speakers38%attributed speech246writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
Writer's voice • 14 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 3 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 33 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 21 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 33 words • 0.0% coveragePete Hegseth • 7 words • 0.0% coveragePete Hegseth • 3 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 3 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 4 words • 0.0% coveragePete Hegseth • 7 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 29 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 15 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 24 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 5 words • 0.0% coverageRussell Fry • 11 words • 0.0% coverageRussell Fry • 28 words • 100.0% coverageRussell Fry • 19 words • 100.0% coverageRussell Fry • 8 words • 0.0% coverageSouth Carolina National Guard • 20 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 7 words • 0.0% coverageSouth Carolina National Guard • 21 words • 0.0% coverageSouth Carolina National Guard • 17 words • 0.0% coverageSC National Guard • 8 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 33 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 17 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 5 words • 0.0% coverage
Selected voice

Russell Fry

88%flagged-word coverage
66 attributed words44% of attributed speech47% writer coverage
0%22.5%45.0%Biased Writer Voice+33.9 ptsWriter: 8.5%Russell Fry: 42.4%42.4%Unattributed Quote+28.8 ptsWriter: 0.0%Russell Fry: 28.8%28.8%Politically Right Leaning +28.8 ptsWriter: 0.0%Russell Fry: 28.8%28.8%Quote-first Misdirection-5.7 ptsWriter: 5.7%Russell Fry: 0.0%0.0%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.