...This chapter provides an overview of how the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon, launched by the United States Air Force, had changed aerial warfare. It briefly discusses how the fighter pilot culture developed during World War I when romantic and heroic idealization of the fighter pilot meant...

...This chapter dives deeper into the five elements of fighter pilot culture, the various ways in which they expressed themselves, and how the culture evolved through various contexts — from World War I through the Vietnam era. It looks at aggressiveness as the element that sets fighter pilots apart...

...This chapter establishes a working definition for fighter pilot culture and how it operates. It describes how and why the fighter pilot emerged as a distinct cultural category during World War I and explains the key mechanisms by which that culture was able to persevere and evolve for over sixty...