The 158th Fighter Bomber Squadron (FBS) of the Georgia Air National Guard (ANG) was mobilized in October 1950. After converting from F-80Cs to F-84Es, the unit moved to Japan in July 1951. It was one of six mobilized Air Guard fighter squadrons that saw combat in the Far East during the Korean War. Stationed at Misawa Air Base, the 158th deployed for short periods of time to the austere forward operating location at Taegu Air Base in the Republic of Korea where it concentrated on flying dangerous ground attack missions against enemy supply lines and troops in the field. Starting in February 1952, the 158th also participated in Operation High Tide, an experimental combat air-refueling project conducted by the Air Force. In July 1952, the unit left federal service and returned to state control after completing its required 21 months of active duty. In addition to the 158th, the other Air Guard fighter units that flew combat missions in Korea included: the 111th FBS, Texas; 154th FBS, Arkansas; 159th FBS Florida; 182nd FBS, Texas; and 196th California. Pilots assigned to the six fighter Air Guard units plus ANG aviators serving in regular Air Force squadrons flew 39, 530 combat sorties in Korea. They destroyed 39 enemy aircraft and four of them became aerial aces. However, the cost was high with 101 Air Guardsmen either killed or declared missing in action. Korea was the Air Guard's first and largest war as a reserve component of the Air Force. Over 45,000 Air Guardsmen, 80 percent of the force, were called into federal service. Altogether, 67 of the Air Guard's 84 combat flying squadrons were mobilized. Those ANG flying units not deployed to Korea were either dispatched to buildup NATO in Europe or assigned to major air commands in the United States to strengthen the Air Force for a possible global military confrontation with the Soviet Union. During the Korean War period, mobilized Air Guard units operated a wide variety of aircraft including F-47s, F-51s, B-26s, B-29s, RB-29s, RB-36s, B-45s, F-80s, F-84s, and F-86s.