We previously reported that an elite team of Air Force pilots were indefinitely grounded for quoting Miley Cyrus song lyrics over text messages.

One of the messages directly quoted Cyrus’ well known hit “We Can’t Stop.”

“So la da di da di/We like to party/Dancing with Molly/Doing whatever we want.”

When text messages referencing ‘molly’ were discovered by Air Force higher-ups, they took the lyrics at face value and assumed the airmen involved were literally admitting to doing drugs and then bragging about it through channels they knew were monitored.

“I can’t imagine a scenario in which a group of Air Force officers would be texting about engaging in criminal acts if that’s what they actually had done,” one of the pilots said at the time. “Maybe I’m naive in this regard, but it makes no sense to me.”

Perhaps that airman’s thoughts made sense to the highest ranking officer in the Air Force.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh is scrutinizing the initial investigation of the rap-quoting airmen, chiefly how Col. Brian Hastings claimed the airmen were part of a drug ring.

From the Daily Beast:

According to people familiar with the general’s thinking, he is concerned that the pilots’ case may not have been handled according to proper investigation procedures and that the texts they sent, which did contain references to drug use, may have been dramatically misinterpreted. The men were issued letters of reprimand and suspended from flying, which could ruin their Air Force careers and make them less competitive for jobs as commercial pilots.

The commander at Laughlin, Col. Brian Hastings, who issued letters of reprimand to the pilots, will come in for particular scrutiny. Hastings accompanied Welsh to a meeting last week with two members of Congress who have taken up the pilots’ cases and attempted to defend his decision to punish the men.

Illustration via the Daily Beast.