As told by Tech. Sgt. Daryl Knee, Air Combat Command Public Affairs, in the article Evolution of Combat: Strike Eagle hits turning point in armed overwatch mission set, one snapshot reflection focuses on the integration of the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter aircraft as a valued contributor to the close-air-support mission set.The national recognition of the survivors of the Battle of Robert’s Ridge in August 2018 has begun to have an effect on the way Air Force members pause to reflect on the history and heritage of the service.As told by Tech. Sgt. Daryl Knee, Air Combat Command Public Affairs, in the article Evolution of Combat: Strike Eagle hits turning point in armed overwatch mission set, one snapshot reflection focuses on the integration of the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter aircraft as a valued contributor to the close-air-support mission set.Close-air support takes place when enemy forces engage in proximity to friendly ground forces. The friendly forces then identify a target and communicate with the air assets overhead to direct a coordinated attack against the enemy. Sometimes, the enemies are very close to the friendly forces, which doctrine calls danger-close.The threat to harming friendlies during a danger-close strike is high, and it requires a certain precision skillset reinforced in combat aircraft pilot training across the Air Force.A Strike Eagle team, led by then Maj. Christopher M. Short, flew overhead during the early part of the Battle Robert’s Ridge.Short, who is now a brigadier general, said the lessons learned from initial operations in Afghanistan changed the fighter community culture as a whole and directly contributed to the advancement of Strike Eagle CAS training.“I went from a culture where the weapons officers would say, ‘We don’t do close-air support in this airplane,’ to the brief starting out that the reason we’re going to Afghanistan is for that 18-year-old on top of the mountain with an M-16,” he said.But the transition mindset wasn’t easy, and it has to do with what the Strike Eagle is and how the Air Force used it.