United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa Europe received a higher priority of air power than Korea by the Truman Administration and the Department of Defense. In September 1950, the NATO Military Committee called for an ambitious buildup of conventional forces to meet the Soviets, subsequently reaffirming this position at the February 1952 meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Lisbon. This meeting established a goal of ultimately fielding 96 divisions in the event of a conventional war in 1954. As part of this buildup USAFE was intended to expand from 16 wings totaling 2,100 aircraft, to 28 wings, 22 of them in the Allied Forces Central
South Korea U.S. zones of occupations. A separate election was held in the U.S. zone in 1948 which led to the creation of the Republic of Korea (ROK), while the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was established in the Soviet zone. The United Nations at the time passed a resolution declaring the ROK to be the only lawful government in Korea. The Korean War began in 1950 when forces from the North invaded the South. The war lasted three years and involved the U.S., China, the Soviet Union and several other nations. The border between the two nations remains the most