War is hell... well not anymore, for some. War is... a police action? Nation building? Arguably - getting back to the premise of this thread, the thing that's the biggest mistake in military aviation history is the removal of guns from fighters and the lack of training in BFM & realistic engagement scenarios. That did more harm than proliferating stealth aircraft or blind reliance on an air force to accomplish the goal of holding territory - which requires boots on the ground.
With (no) respect to you armchair quarterbacks who's hindsight is 20:20, all I can say is that the wind that blows from your holes has all the intelligence, odor, and warmth of a fart.
You get all your insights on how air combat works from a flawed game. You have no concept of what it's like to take a 30 ton piece of metal, strap it to your ass, to go out and do battle with a similarly equipped individual. If you did, you'd realize how painful it is to look at what you post and assume there's intelligent life behind your thoughts.
Fine, flame me. I don't give a damn. Hopefully the political opinions contained in this thread will close it.