03/21/2026
Defender Nation,
Our official birthday is March 29, 1943 . We historically celebrate ourselves during police week in May; however, it is important we do not lose sight of our actual birthdate. Our DEFENDERS should know our heritage.
You continue to exemplify our proud service every day; and in light of current operations where we have our DEFENDERS fighting through high end threats and ensuring AF missions continue with precision, I hope you find a short moment to recognize the significance of the date and talk our proud lineage-
Attached is a short historical document to help you out!
V/R
~Defender 1
DAMIAN SCHLUSSEL, Colonel, USAF
Director of Security Forces (acting)
DCS Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection
Security Forces Career Field Birth Date
USA Corps of Military Police birthday is 26 September 1941
Pre-Air Force through the 1950s. The invention of the aircraft and its subsequent military use required a protective force to guard the aircraft and defend the people who fly and fight. In 1921, Italian General Giulio Douhet said, “It is easier and more effective to destroy the enemy’s aerial power by destroying his nests and eggs on the ground then to hunt his flying birds in the air.” Security Forces are, and have been, that protective force and each SF member is part of that proud history. 1
The history of the United States Air Force Security Forces began in 1947, but its heritage goes back to 1943. As result of the reorganization of the War Department, General Henry H. “Hap” Arnold established the Office of the Air Provost Marshal. Army Air Force (AAF) Military Police Companies were brought together and named AAF Base Security Battalions. This marked the first major milestone in the history of our career field. 1
The provision of interior police or guard duty, law enforcement, and defense for the air bases of the growing AAF was the responsibility of Army Provost Marshal Major General Allen W. Guillon. Three organizations were established to perform these missions: Guard Companies (later Squadrons), Military Police Companies (Aviation), and Air Base Security Battalions. 1
Guard Squadrons were organized to provide law enforcement and perform interior guard duties on stateside air bases. These units were usually formed from base personnel who had little or no formal police or security training and, because the various overseas theaters had priority for manpower, were often undermanned. Although a school for Guard officers was established at Miami Army Air Field, FL, and a military police school was set up at Buckley Field, CO, until these schools could carry the training load some local commanders provided their own specialized training to their Guard Squadrons. In September 1942, at Sioux Falls, SD, the base commander set up an intensive six-week course for the 929th Guard Squadron covering skills such as first aid, defense against airborne attack, map reading, interior and prisoner guard duty, combat tactics, field fortifications, camouflage, and anti-tank measures. To augment the 929th’s scant manpower, the base commander, also, assigned the 811th Technical Training Squadron to military police duties. Not until 1943 did the 929th have sufficient manpower assigned to be able to actually train properly and perform its duties without augmentation. 3, 1
The duties performed by the Guard Squadrons stateside were performed overseas by Military Police Companies (Aviation). Forty-seven MP (Aviation) Companies were formed by the end of 1942. They had their own Table of Organization and Equipment and were composed of mounted and motorized patrol sections, a traffic and gate section, a desk and record section, and a criminal investigative section. MP (Aviation) Companies performed the normal duties of military police on Army Air Force bases and reported to the Corps of Military Police that had responsibility for these units’ logistical support and training. The MP (Aviation) Training Camp was established at Camp Ripley, MN, in May 1942. The camp provided training for individuals and units and included courses for AAF officers, enlisted men, provost marshals, and MP company commanders. That same year stateside MP (Aviation) Companies were re-designated as Guard Squadrons. 3, 1
Air Base Security Battalions, formed to be the Army Air Force’s infantry, marked the first recognition that air bases in combat theaters required specially trained and equipped defenders. These battalions can rightfully claim the distinction of being the ancestors of today’s Air Force Security Forces units. Although created to fulfill a valid air base defense mission in overseas areas, the ABS Battalions were authorized by Army Chief of Staff, Gen. George C. Marshall primarily to help absorb the AAF’s 1942 quota of 53,299 black enlistees. The plan called for 23,000 black soldiers to make up fifty-seven all-black units originally to be called aerodrome defense battalions. The program was later expanded to a total of 103 units and by 1943, 296 ABS battalions were planned of which 261 were to be all black units, but not all of these units were activated. In keeping with the Army policy of segregation, the all-black ABS units had white officers. 3
Designed to protect air bases against riots, parachute attacks, and air raids, air base security battalions were equipped with small arms, machine guns, mortars, gr***de launchers, rocket launchers (bazookas), half-tracks, self-propelled 75mm. guns, and even light tanks. Unlike the MP (Aviation) Companies and Guard Squadrons, which focused on interior police or law enforcement duties common to the Military Police, the ABS units and their combat security mission were unique to the AAF. 3
On 12 February 1942 the United States adopted the British air defense philosophy. The Army Chief of Staff, Gen. George C. Marshall, approved the allocation of 53,299 African Americans to the Army Air Forces with the "stipulation that air base defense 'for the number of air bases found necessary' be organized and that 'Negro personnel' be used for this purpose as required." This order formed the Army Air Forces (AAF) air base security battalions in June 1942. Units were deployed throughout the European, Asian and African theaters and designed to defend against local ground attacks. These units were armed with rifles, machine guns and 37mm guns. Some battalions were equipped with a variety of vehicles, including M2 half-tracks, M3 armored cars with .50 caliber machine guns, and self-propelled 75 mm guns. 2
The 920th Security Battalion was activated on 27 July 1942 at Camp Swift, TX.
As World War II progressed, Army Air Force military police and base security responsibilities expanded. This expansion led the Army to create a separate provost marshal’s office for the Air Forces. This was done on March 29, 1943, and Colonel H. G. Reynolds was named the Air Provost Marshal by General Arnold marking what the Air Force Security Forces celebrate as its birth date. Reynolds was well qualified for the position, having established the Plant Protection Division in the Office of the Under Secretary of War in 1940 and was serving as Deputy Director of the Internal Security Division in the provost marshal general’s office at the time of his transfer to the Air Corps in February 1943. The APM’s office was established under the Air Force Assistant Chief of Air Staff for Materiel, Maintenance, and Distribution along with finance, quartermaster, ordnance, engineering and the Women’s Air Corps. 3
On July 26, 1947, President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 into law. This Act authorized the creation of the United States Air Force, (September 18, 1947) which would take over the personnel, aircraft, and mission of the AAF including the MP force that would eventually become the United States Air Force Security Forces. On 2 January 1948, General Order No. 1, HQ USAF designated these units and the individuals serving under them as “Air Police” and established the Air Provost Marshal. Colonel Joseph V. Dillon became the first Air Provost Marshal of the United States Air Force. 1
Gradually, units performing police guard, and internal security duties at AAF bases were effectively transferred to the Air Corps under the supervision of the Air Provost Marshal. By mid-1944, 60,000 men were serving in MP (Aviation) Companies, Guard Squadrons, and ABS Battalions supporting the AAF, and Reynolds’ office proceeded to issue regulations covering internal security, the protection of classified material, the health and safety of workers in aircraft plants, and the recruitment, training and use of Guard Squadrons and Military Police (Aviation) Companies. 1
1 September 1950: The first Air Police School was established at Tyndall Air Force Base.
1966: The name Air Police was officially changed to Security Police.
31 October 1997: The career field was reorganized and officially became the Security Forces, according to this YouTube video and the Air Force Security Forces Center lineage page.
Source publications:
1 – “DRAFT Air Force Handbook 31-128, SECURITY FORCES HISTORY”, OPR: AFSFC/FPI, certified by: AF/A4S (Brig Gen Andrea D. Tullos), Supersedes: AFMAN 31-201, Volume 1, Security Forces History, 9 August 2010, pp
2 - "Air Base Defense in the Republic of Vietnam 1961 - 1973", by Roger P. Fox, Office of Air Force History, USAF, D.C., 1979, page 3
3 – “DRAFT Defenders of the Force: The History of the United States Air Force Security Forces 1947-2006” by James Lee Conrad and Jerry M. Bullock, pages 10-12.
