At roll calls or warrior calls I would sometimes share with my F-15 students what it felt like to advance into Iraq in an M113 over a largely vanquished enemy who was largely whipped. I pointed out that they had been bombed for weeks, and thus while some still fought hard many were eager for the battle to be over. It is important that you not only shoot down an enemies planes or tanks, but that you instill terror into their psyche. There were some A-10 pilots at Myrtle Beach famous for making strafing reattacks on the "runners" after destroying a tank. Some guys did that, some did not. It was flight lead perogrative. After the war, I found one of the more notoriously bloodthristy pilots and personally thanked him for helping save my life. The fact he was so ruthless helped me roll across those same desert fields a few weeks later and survive to get home to my family. Destroying the vessel they are in is not enough...they can return with the lessons learned to fight again soon after with a renewed confidence. No--what you need to do is swiftly kill and destroy anyone who challenges you on the field, so that there isn't an "after action report" for them to review, but instead the realization that Ivan/Muhammad was here yesterday, but now he is gone...and they may be next. That is why I think keeping the gun on 4th generation fighters was so important, and BFM skills were still critical. You want the enemy to know if he somehow, miraculously ends up surviving to the merge where he can actually see that Eagle/Viper/Raptor/Hornet, he is about 90-120 seconds from getting his brains gunned out with 20mm. When an American fighter pilot shows up at a merge, he is generally not worried about dying but instead wondering if he will be the next Bong, Cunningham, Gabreski, or the first ace of the 4th generation fighter world. Not only that, but I espoused the idea that if you did pop a guy with heater I hoped you would close in for a gun burst before the guy would eject, aiming specifically for the canopy. That way, when the enemy found the wreckage, they would realize the pilot that shot them down not only wanted to destroy the aircraft, but kill the pilot as well. THAT would be what would give the enemy pilots nightmares at night. ISIS promotes their violence with the hopes of intimidating the west. Terror is tool that cuts both ways, and the most effective warriors will embrace it and use it to their advantage. When you merge with a live bandit, second place in air to air combat is dead. Having them terrified before they show up is important, and we need warriors who will instill that kind of terror.