Contrails (book)

Contrails is a book issued to new cadets entering the United States Air Force Academy. It contains information on United States Air Force and United States military history; Academy history; notable Academy graduates; aircraft, satellites, and munitions in the current U.S. Air Force inventory; transcrips of important National Documents such as the Preamble to the Consitution and words of the national anthem; famous (usually patriotic or leadership-related) quotes; and a dictionary of the Cadet Lexicon, which can differ greatly from all other known English dialects. Cadets in their fourth class (freshman) year are expected to memorize most of the information from Contrails—much of it verbatim.]

The Fourth Class cadets are issued a copy of "Contrails" in their respective class colors, which are Blue, Silver, Red, and Gold.