DoDD 5410.18: Flyovers, Military Bands, and Cancellation

DoD Directive 5410.18, titled Public Affairs Community Relations Policy, was the Department of Defense policy that governed how military people, aircraft, bands, and equipment could be used to support civilian community events. It was issued on November 20, 2001, replaced an earlier 1974 version, and remained in force until September 29, 2021, when it was canceled and consolidated into a restructured DoD Instruction 5410.19.¹² During its two decades in effect, it set the ground rules for flyovers at football games, band performances at parades, Blue Angels and Thunderbirds appearances at air shows, and every other request from a civilian sponsor for military participation.

What the Directive Covered

The directive established policy, assigned responsibilities, and defined command relationships for community relations activities across the entire Department of Defense. It applied to every DoD component — the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Military Departments, the Combatant Commands, and the Defense Agencies — and reached every community relations activity regardless of sponsor.¹

Two things fell outside its reach. Voluntary activities that service members undertook in their personal capacity were not covered, and aerial demonstrations designed specifically to promote the sale of weapons systems were handled under separate procurement-related guidance.

The Threshold Rules for Any Community Event

Before the military could say yes to a request, the activity had to clear several tests. It had to serve DoD interests, not interfere with official duties or readiness, be funded through authorized appropriations, and be available on equal terms to comparable non-federal organizations. That last point was a fairness rule: help one community group with a type of event, and the military had to be willing to help a similar group with a similar request.¹

The directive also imposed a “common interest” standard. Support was generally limited to events benefiting a broad segment of the community, such as nonpartisan patriotic occasions, industry-wide conventions, or holiday celebrations. Testimonial dinners for individuals and gatherings tied to a single commercial firm were off-limits unless the broader community stood to benefit.

Two more rules did a lot of the practical work. DoD personnel could not officially endorse, or appear to endorse, any non-federal event, product, or enterprise. The exceptions were narrow: the Combined Federal Campaign, OPM-approved disaster relief appeals, Military Service aid societies, and internal welfare funds. And where a commercial vendor could reasonably provide the same support a group was asking of the military, the military was supposed to decline. The Pentagon was a supplier of last resort, not a free alternative to private business.

On cost, the directive set a “no additional cost” standard. Community relations activities were funded through each component’s Operations and Maintenance account and were not to generate expenses beyond what was already programmed. When unprogrammed costs came up — travel, meals, lodging for supporting personnel — the sponsor was expected to reimburse the government. Installations could not charge admission, parking, or viewing fees for community relations activities, and when the military participated in non-federal events that did charge admission, participation was limited to “incidental” support, with specific exceptions for Service academy athletics, aerial demonstration teams, and band concerts.¹

What the Directive Prohibited

Several categories of activity were off the table entirely. Military resources could not support partisan political events, events where public confrontation was planned or likely, or events sponsored by organizations that restricted admission or membership by race, creed, color, national origin, or gender. Organizations that would not disclose their bylaws or membership qualifications to the public were also ineligible.¹

Uniformed personnel could not be used in demeaning or menial roles. No ushers, no parking attendants, no bag handlers, no beauty pageant escorts. The provision protected the dignity of the uniform and blocked the appearance that the military was providing free labor to private interests.

Flyovers and Aerial Demonstrations

Some of the most detailed rules governed military aviation at public events. Safety was designated the primary consideration, and both DoD and FAA regulations had to be met. A standard flyover was capped at four aircraft of the same general type, making a single pass, at no lower than 500 feet above ground level. Anything beyond that — more aircraft, mixed types, multi-Service participation — was classified as an “aerial review” and needed prior approval from the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.¹

The Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds operated inside a tighter set of rules. Their performances were restricted to aviation-related events at airports, over open water, or over suitable open land with adequate crowd control and safety. On-base appearances had to be part of an official open house program open to the public. Every performance site required an FAA demonstration site feasibility study, and sponsors had to meet detailed logistical requirements including runway specifications, crash and fire equipment, aircraft guards, and fuel at government contract prices.³

The demonstration teams were the one category expressly allowed to perform at events charging admission. Civilian requests went to an annual DoD scheduling conference each December, and participation at any single event was normally limited to two consecutive years. Civilian sponsors paid a partial reimbursement for each official demonstration.³ Each team also had to complete a cost analysis at the end of every demonstration season and forward it up the chain to the Secretary of the applicable Military Department.¹

Funeral and Memorial Flyovers

Flyovers for funeral services honoring rated or designated active-duty aviation personnel and dignitaries of the Armed Forces or the federal government were not treated as community relations activities at all. Because of that classification, the individual Military Services, rather than the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, decided when such flyovers were appropriate.¹

The missing man formation, in which one of four aircraft breaks away, was authorized for memorial and funeral services and for ceremonies commemorating Memorial Day, POW/MIA Recognition Day, and Veterans Day, provided the event was “solemn and commemorative in nature” and not paired with sporting events or air shows. Each service maintained its own eligibility criteria. The Air Force, for instance, authorized flyovers for active-duty and reserve rated officers, career enlisted aviators, three- and four-star generals, Medal of Honor recipients, and former prisoners of war, among others.⁴

Military Bands

Bands were treated differently from other logistical support. Musical resources were not classified as ordinary “logistical support,” and they were generally unavailable for non-federal events because the uniform carried what the directive described as a “strong visual appearance of a DoD endorsement” of the sponsor. Bands were specifically barred from performing at fundraising events, and military musicians could not be placed in competition with commercial musicians.¹

The kinds of music allowed were also narrowed. Bands could not provide background, dinner, dance, or other social music at events sponsored by non-federal entities, whether on or off a military installation. When a band was authorized to support a non-federal event, its role was limited to ceremonial support with patriotic or military music. A 2009 Marine Corps administrative message reinforced these limits, stating that bands could not even perform a patriotic opener at military association fundraising events, including those supporting wounded warriors.⁵

Overseas band tours were capped at 15 days. Domestic touring for the premier ensembles — the Army Field Band, Navy Band, U.S. Marine Band, and Air Force Band — was scheduled by the individual Services within date ranges set by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.

How Requests Were Approved

Sponsors used two standard forms: DD Form 2535 for aerial support and DD Form 2536 for non-aviation participation. Completed forms went to the nearest military installation and moved through the chain of command to the correct approval authority.¹

For routine activities, the head of the relevant DoD component could approve logistical support. Events expected to draw national or international media coverage moved up to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs for final approval. Specialized aviation activities such as mass parachute jumps and tactical helicopter landings at public events required prior approval from the relevant Service’s public affairs headquarters. The ASD(PA) was also the arbiter when there was a question about whether an event qualified as an official federal government function.

Cancellation and What Replaced It

DoDD 5410.18 was canceled effective September 29, 2021, when the DoD issued a restructured DoDI 5410.19 in multiple volumes that consolidated and replaced both the directive and DoDI 5410.20. The new instruction is organized into four volumes: Volume 1 covers policy overview, Volume 2 addresses speaking engagements and support to non-federal entities, Volume 3 governs patriotic and military observances, and Volume 4 handles ceremonial, musical, and aerial support.²⁶

The successor framework kept many of the directive’s core principles: the supplier-of-last-resort standard, the endorsement prohibition, the no-additional-cost requirement, and the general criteria for evaluating community requests. The main substantive change involved what counts as “incidental” support. The 2021 instruction and subsequent updates in 2024 and 2025 replaced older percentage-based thresholds with a functional test: total DoD support cannot constitute “the main component of the planning, scheduling, functioning, or audience draw of the event.” The event has to be able to proceed on its non-military elements even if military participation adds significant value, and this standard applies whether or not an admission fee is charged.⁷

A related structural change came in May 2024, when revisions to the Joint Ethics Regulation eliminated its section on support to non-federal entities and directed all such matters to DoDI 5410.19. Volumes 1 and 2 received further updates in July and August 2025 that refined the evaluation factors for incidental support and aligned definitions with the Joint Ethics Regulation.⁷ Overarching authority now flows from DoDD 5122.05, which designates the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs as the principal authority for community outreach and public affairs across the department.⁸

1
U.S. Marines Aviation. DoD Directive 5410.18, Public Affairs Community Relations Policy
2
U.S. Navy Band. DoDI 5410.19 Volume 1
3
Columbus Air Force Base. DD Form 2535 Instructions
4
Military OneSource. Military Funeral Honors Flyovers
5
United States Marine Corps. Guidance on Military Bands and Other Musical Units
6
DoD Standards of Conduct Office. NFE Relations Deskbook Presentation
7
The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School. Practice Notes Uniforms and Unity
8
Executive Services Directorate. DoDD 5122.05