The goal of CONSTANT PEG was to instruct combat fighter pilots from the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Marine Corps on how to engage MiGs in aerial combat and prevail in them
As explained by Senior Airman Rachel Loftis, 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs, in the article “Capt. Carlisle” unveiled: MiG-23 dedicated to ACC Commander, at a ceremony held at the Threat Training Facility on Nellis Air Force Base (AFB), Nevada, on October 17, 2016, U.S. Air Force (USAF) personnel unveiled a Russian MiG-23 fighter jet with the nickname “Captain Carlisle,” which was dedicated in memory of Gen. Hawk Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command (ACC).
The ceremony’s opening remarks were made by Col. Samantha Weeks, commander of the 57th Adversary Tactics Group, who praised the aircraft’s namesake.
“It is my honor to be with you today as we dedicate an aircraft to one of the finest fighter pilots in our Air Force and one that I have been fortunate enough to work for almost my entire career,” said Weeks. “To have command of one of his prior assignments is a huge responsibility and one that I am forever grateful for.”
Weeks explained that “Gen. Carlisle has flown more than 3,600 flight hours in seven different fighter aircraft and currently leads over 94,000 Airmen as the ACC commander, and while we are here today to dedicate a MiG-23 in his name, I know he would rather make this event about the men and women, pilots, and maintainers who devoted themselves to the 4477th CONSTANT PEG.”
The CONSTANT PEG program was started by the wife of Maj. Gaillard Peck while she was working for Maj. Gen. Hoyt S. “Sandy” Vandenberg at the Pentagon. Vandenberg’s call sign was “CONSTANT,” and the program was named after him.
The goal of CONSTANT PEG was to instruct the combat fighter aircrews of the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Marine Corps on the most effective strategies for engaging MiGs in aerial combat. From 1986 to 1988, Carlisle served as the flight commander and chief of weapons and tactics for the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nellis AFB.
The official dedication phase of the ceremony began after Weeks’ speech and the “Captain Carlisle” MiG-23 was then unveiled. Carlisle then stepped onto the podium for a few quick remarks celebrating CONSTANT PEG’s legacy.
“We’re approaching 44 years where we have not lost an airplane, thanks to the tough lessons we learned,” said Carlisle. “Since 1972, the Air Force has not lost an airplane in air-to-air combat. Oh, and by the way, April 15, 1953, was the last time a soldier had to worry about an enemy airplane dropping a bomb on them.”
Carlisle went on to add, “It’s amazing to think about what our Air Force has done. Those lessons we learned coming out of Vietnam were difficult, but the key point in that statement is we learned the lessons. So, I guess the bottom line to that whole thing is if you’re in a country that’s an enemy of the United States and you fly for that country, the short answer is, it sucks to be you.”
During the Cold War, one of the most popular and effective Soviet aircraft was the Mach-2-capable MiG-23 Flogger. It opened the way for the equally effective MiG-27 Flogger ground strike variant since it was the first Soviet airplane to have variable-sweep wings.
Photo by U.S. Air Force
