Most of the 190th's early airmen were veterans of World War II. The volunteers – 23 officers and 44 enlisted men – met one night each week in a small building on Fort Street in downtown Boise. On 1 April 1951, the unit was activated for duty during the Korean War. It remains the only full‑scale mobilization in the Idaho Air Guard's history. Personnel were sent to Moody AFB, Georgia to replace active-duty airmen sent to Korea, and the squadron became a F-51D Fighter-Bomber training unit. The 190th was returned to Idaho State control in November 1952 and on 1 January 1953, the squadron was reformed at Gowen Field.