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
Air Battle of South Korea voted to send military forces. The United States' Seventh Fleet dispatched Task Force 77, led by the fleet carrier USS "Valley Forge"; the British Far East Fleet dispatched several ships, including HMS "Triumph", to provide air and naval support. By June 27, the naval and air forces moving to Korea had authorization to attack North Korean targets with the goal of helping repel the North Korean invasion of the country. With the US forces accepting the North Korean attack as an act of war, it became imperative to evacuate civilians and American diplomats from Korea, as the forces of the