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U.S. Air Force Security Forces

The U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF), from which the modern U.S. Air Force (USAF) is derived, formed its own law enforcement organization in November 1941, only months after the USAAF was created as a semiautonomous organization within the U.S. Army. In 1942, the organization was placed under the new office of the Air Provost Marshal and its units were designated as either military police companies or air base security battalions. After a number of changes in its name and the scope of its responsibilities, on July 1, 1997, air force police were officially redesignated the Air Force Security Forces Directorate.

History

The Air Base Security (ABS) Battalions have what is easily the most unusual history of all military police units. In 1941, when the U.S. armed forces were still segregated on the basis of race, the first troops to serve in the battalions were black enlisted men who reported to an all white officer corps. The ABS Battalion units were comprised of the first black Americans to be assigned to air force units. Their original training was at Fort Rucker, Alabama, and they eventually served in North Africa, Italy, and throughout the Pacific. In addition, base law enforcement was also performed by USAAF Military Police units; overseas they were designated as Military Police Companies, Aviation, and within the nation's borders they were called Guard companies.

By 1948, a year after official separation of the U.S. Air Force from the Army, the Military Police name was changed to Air Police. In 1966, it was changed to Security Police, and in 1997 it was changed again to its present designation. Whatever their titles, the men and now women have been an integral part of air force deployments. They were usually the only armed fighting force on air force bases during the Korean War and were heavily involved in protection of bases around the world during the Cold War. During the Vietnam War, as base protection requirements escalated, specially trained and equipped units became known as the Blue Berets in recognition of their distinctive headgear. In recognition of the almost 2,000 members of the 7th Air Force's Air Police and Security Police Squadrons who died in Vietnam and the almost 3,500 who were wounded, the Vietnam Security Police Association (USAF) was formed in 1995 to honor those who served in Vietnam and Thailand.

Changing Responsibilities

Each of the name changes has been based on changing duties, but the most recent change, in 1997, especially reflects the new responsibilities that are much broader than traditional policing. Since this most recent name change, the security forces represent the merger of the combat arms training, maintenance, law enforcement, and security career fields in the air force. The aim is to create a cadre of highly skilled ground weapons experts who will retain their military policing missions but will also be capable of securing bases and other facilities in the event of outside attacks. Rationales for the changes were developed in the aftermath of the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia. New tactics, which are geared more to the possibility that lethal force may be required to dispel an attack, have resulted in changes in training that place a higher priority on responding to incidents that were once viewed solely as crimes but now might be viewed as terrorist-related incidents.

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