The 2026 Milksop Convention convened on Twitter after video of the Navy’s top aviators, the Blue Angels, buzzing a Pensacola beach, became public:

Critics of the flyover fell into one of two categories: safetyists and partisans. The former are the most reasonable. It is no small thing to pilot a jet several dozen feet above hundreds of onlookers, and there have been tragedies elsewhere from lesser pilots. There is inherent risk in these maneuvers. But this was a publicized event for which the onlookers were prepared and accepted that risk for the opportunity to witness the exceptional.

For those who don’t know, Pensacola is the home of naval aviation. Observers were lined up at the “Blue Angels Spot.” The entire region knows and adores the Blue Angels. Though the aircraft did, quite literally, come out of the blue, the beachgoers were there for no other reason than the thrill of precisely that:

While I’ve had my gripes with Pete Hegseth’s leadership of DoD, his critics have proven themselves a turgid mix of misinformed and mewling. Hegseth is doing what a man of his talents should: selling the military to Americans who have become increasingly detached from their fighting forces. Hegseth and Co. understand that risk is attractive, and having our very best assume that risk without fear of media-flogged censure is winning.

Let the flyboys fly, and allow Americans to experience what a trillion dollars worth of guts and thrust can do.