Innovating Combat Preparations during the U.S. War in Vietnam: The Genesis of Enhanced Air Force Training

Abstract The U.S. Air Force's periodic Red Flag exercises, starting in late 1975, came about as a result of evolutionary institutional changes in how the Air Force trained its pilots for war. Contrary to later perceptions, Red Flag was not the sudden creation of a few individuals in the aftermath of the U.S. air war in Vietnam. Instead, Exercise Coronet Organ, a series of seven large-scale exercises from 1969 to 1973, functioned as the progenitor of the Red Flag concept. Coronet Organ was similar in intent, scope, size, and purpose to Red Flag. The realistic scenarios of Coronet Organ, additional air combat exercise programs, and recurring symposia on improving combat effectiveness illustrate the evolutionary nature of transformation in the U.S. Air Force as a consequence of the Vietnam War. This article, based on declassified records from many hitherto unused archival collections, shows that large numbers of individuals at all levels of the Air Force and military command, were important agents of change.