In the skies over Vietnam, American pilots were poorly armed and ill-trained for close combat engagements, and Soviet-built MIGs flew rings around them.  Making matters worse, rules of engagements written by politicians gave limitless advantages to the enemy.  In a war it wasn't winning, the Navy called nine of its best fighter pilots to Miramar, California, to turn "the best of the best" into leaders who would take what they learned back to the fleet and teach others.  What began as a five week course in combat maneuvers, tactics, and weapons systems became a highly sophisticated ten week course at Fightertown USA. Paramount Pictures' "Top Gun" didn't tell the whole story, so Commander Randy Cunningham, a Top Gun instructor, and director Ron Zimmerman decided they would and released "Top Gun: The Real Story" in '87, sharing hard lessons learned in combat.  In '97, Cunningham appeared in Henniger Media's film "The Story of Top Gun" sharing concerns about training for a future war.  Sure enough, peace lasted no longer than it pleased our enemies.

Today, Miramar is home to the Fleet Marine Force, including the Third Marine Aircraft Wing.