From 1985 to 1987, Jack Manclark, the Air Force’s former test and evaluation director, oversaw a special-access program dubbed “Constant Peg.” Under this then-secret initiative, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy fighter pilots trained in the skies northwest of Las Vegas at the Tonopah Test Range on how to fight against Soviet MiGs—by going up against actual Soviet-built fighters that the United States acquired. “The purpose was to expose US fighter crews to MiGs,” said Manclark during a July 31 speech sponsored by AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies in Arlington, Va. “We wanted them to be able to kill a MiG the first time they saw it.” Despite the secrecy surrounding the program, all sorties were conducted during the day, he said. Continue to the full report.
Airmen basic rarely go on to become four-star generals, but one who did retired last week after a 42 year career that saw him rise from a lowly slick-sleeve to the head of one of the Air Force’s most important major commands.