The Top Gun Program: America's Elite Pilot School

This so cool. Thanks for sharing this!

The elephant in the room that isn't specifically discussed is the fact that the "loss" of dogfighting techniques was, in a large part, a byproduct of limiting the ability of pilots to exercise the full capabilities of their aircraft in the interest of safety and airframe preservation. Pilots need to be empowered to explore their own limits to fly their aircraft to its limits. That was often limited by the bean counters at the pentagon and safety center who forgot the maxim that you have to train the way you fight.
Of course, we also forgot to teach the N. Vietnamese that guns had been replaced by more sophisticated rockets and missiles.
It took "mavericks" within the operating forces to create a fix to Washington's peacetime attitudes. (Pun intended)

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
"The United States Navy (U.S.N.) Fighter Weapons School was established in 1969 in an attempt to stem US losses in the air war with Vietnam. Nicknamed Top Gun, the school taught dog fighting skills to a generation who were reliant on missiles and technology, and their efforts turned the tide of the air war. Background of Top Gun"