ts pilots were receiving more training, its repair and supply system now worked and The commanders were now capable of more combat power than ever before. All of these reforms were put into place with much more sophisticated systems and aircraft and yet the gains still held. What was needed now was to have the troops experienced before they actually entered combat. The US military is one of the strongest believers and users of war game simulations. This is for a very good reason, war game simulations provide valuable combat experience without actual combat. The result is a highly trained and seasoned fighting force without the actual risk of combat and casualties. For the Air force and Navy air it was much easier to do as all the electronics were already in place in the fighters. Aggressor squadrons were the start of the Air forces real life combat training. Using soviet Mig's bought from 3rd world countries and pilots trained in Soviet doctrine to go up against regular fighter pilots in simulated combat. This gives the pilots the invaluable experience of combat even before they fly there first combat mission. The pilots are able to go through what they did right and wrong in the aftermath. Now the pilots could improve there skills without the danger of actual combat, tactics could be tried and evaluated without dire consequences that could happen in real combat. This idea of real combat in the air force did not stop there. In 1973, the ambitious training program Red Flag based at Nellis commenced; this time it involved not only aggressor squadrons but ground based obstacles such as SAM, AAA, live bomb drops and mid-air refueling. Now the air element of the military could conduct all manner of live fire and simulated combat exercises. Having combat experience without actual combat is of utmost importance to the militaries Air branches do to the fact the in air engagements the winners and losers are usually sorted out in a matter of sec...
