Red Flag space operators receive March Gold Knight award Published June 10, 2011 PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- The Gold Knight recipient for March is the Red Flag team. The Red Flag team made Air Force history in February as two space control units participated in Red Flag 11-3 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. This was the first time Air Force Space Command units were a primary training audience in Air Combat Command's premier tactical training exercise. The team was made of deployed elements of the 16th and 76th Space Control Squadrons, and long-haul assets from the 21st Logistics Readiness Squadron. Red Flag exercises were born in the post-Vietnam era, and focused on developing combat mission-ready crews through realistic training environments. Additionally, the Red Flag team saw another first as a space officer was designated an overall mission commander, responsible for developing a combat plan that integrated air, space, and cyberspace capabilities into a single composite force package that solved an advanced tactical problem. Space officers from the 21st SW were also appointed as non-kinetic effects duty officers, an emerging combat role that was refined during Red Flag.