Red Flag With a Difference
Hebert's article describes the first Joint Red Flag, the Air Force's top combat training exercise, which put aircrews through realistic conditions over friendly territory. The exercise mixed live flying, simulator sorties and computer-generated missions and included other services and allied nations. Officials say the value of the training lies in working through hard problems rather than in winning, so later scenarios are designed to be extremely difficult. The article traces the programme to Vietnam-era findings that a pilot's early combat experience was critical to surviving, and says the safety record improved over time.
Hebert's article describes the first Joint Red Flag, the Air Force's top combat training exercise, which put aircrews through realistic conditions over friendly territory. The exercise mixed live flying, simulator sorties and computer-generated missions and included other services and allied nations. Officials say the value of the training lies in working through hard problems rather than in winning, so later scenarios are designed to be extremely difficult. The article traces the programme to Vietnam-era findings that a pilot's early combat experience was critical to surviving, and says the safety record improved over time.
Written from the the article itself, Air & Space Forces Magazine, read 2026-10-23.
What our sources record
Recorded when this source was checked, figures included, with page references and quotation marks removed.
August 2005. https://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/0805redflag/