forces deployed within the continental United States (CONUS) to strengthen the air defense of the North American continent. The creation of ConAC was largely an administrative convenience: the units assigned to ConAC were dual-trained and expected to revert to their primary strategic or tactical roles after the air defense battle was won. Two years later, on 1 December 1950, the Air Force reestablished Tactical Air Command as a major command and removed it from assignment to ConAC in large part due to the need to deploy personnel and aircraft to Japan and South Korea due to the Korean War. Korean War On the morning of 25 June 1950, the peace in South Korea was shattered by the sound of invading tanks. The North Korean army had crossed the 38th parallel and were driving south towards the South Korean capital of Seoul in an effort to unite the country under Communist rule. The United States Air Force, weakened by post-World War II demobilization, associated budget reductions, and preoccupied with the threat of the Soviet Union, was thrust into its first war as a separate service when North Korea invaded South Korea. Air bases in the United States went on mobility alert to prepare for overseas movement in response to what was then described as the "Korean Emergency." Units from SAC and CONAC were deployed to Japan and South Korea, while Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units were recalled to active duty and, in the case of the Air National Guard, placed under Federal Service in case they were needed. What started out as an emergency turned into a bona-fide war. The Korean War marked the creation of a professional Air Force that would grow in size and strength for decades to come. From the start, the deployed tactical fighters and bombers to Japan and South Korea were effective. On 10 July a North Korean armored column was trapped at a bombed-out bridge near Pyongtaek. F-80 Shooting Stars, B-26 Invaders, and F-82 Twin Mustangs destroyed 117 trucks, 38 tanks, and seven half-tracks. This attack, along with others, gutted North Korea's single armored division. Had it survived, the North Korean force could have easily punched through the United Nations (UN) defensive line at Pusan and driven UN Command (UNC) forces into the sea. By the end of August 1950, the initial North Korean onslaught was reversed and Seoul was retaken. As