As a young "nugget" naval aviator and aspiring fighter pilot I listened intently to my instructors, studied hard, did my best to apply what I had learned during airborne practice flights . . . and constantly got "hammered." After some period of enduring this humiliation I began asking embarrassing questions of my salty old instructors concerning what I
assumed to be pretty basic tactical concepts. Probably the best answer I got was: "Oh, you're supposed to lose at this stage."