The United States Navy Fighter Weapons School was established in 1969 at Naval Air Station Miramar in California with the intention of taking the best pilots from various squadrons and training them to be the best of the best. Informally known as TOPGUN, the program hoped to have these pilots go on to train others upon rejoining their squadrons. In 1986 a movie of the same name not only brought the school to the forefront of pop-culture, but also had a side effect of increasing recruiting turnouts. In 1996, NAS Miramar was transferred to the Marine Corps and the TOPGUN program was integrated into the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center (NSAWC) at NAS Fallon in the Nevada desert.
https://psyne.blog/product/naval-fighter-weapons-school-1986-mens-t-shirt/
