Red Tag Bastards
Encyclopedia
Red Tag Bastards is a nickname used for every red-colored class year of cadets at the United States Air Force Academy
. Each class year is assigned one of four rotating colors – yellow, blue, silver, and red, in that order – to identify it, the new incoming class being assigned the color of the last graduating class. The "Red Tag" comes from the bright red "Remove Before Flight" tags hung from dysfunctional parts on grounded military aircraft. The epithet originated in 1962 as an insult, but it stuck nonetheless.
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
. Each class year is assigned one of four rotating colors – yellow, blue, silver, and red, in that order – to identify it, the new incoming class being assigned the color of the last graduating class. The "Red Tag" comes from the bright red "Remove Before Flight" tags hung from dysfunctional parts on grounded military aircraft. The epithet originated in 1962 as an insult, but it stuck nonetheless.