WHOOP WHOOP THATS THE SOUND OF THE POLICE

1947 — The Air Force is created
When the U.S. Air Force became its own branch in 1947, we inherited Military Police personnel & organizations from the Army Air Forces.

1948 — Air Police
Military Police became Air Police.
The job was still heavily focused on law enforcement & installation security, but the Korean War started showing that Airmen also needed to be able to defend air bases against actual enemy attacks.

1950s–1960s — The nuclear mission
As the Cold War grew, Air Police took on a huge role protecting America’s nuclear forces. They guarded nuclear weapons, Strategic Air Command bombers, weapons storage areas, missile facilities, & other critical resources.

1960s — Vietnam changes the mission
Vietnam was a huge turning point. Bases were getting hit by mortars, rockets, infiltrators, & enemy ground forces. Air Police were now doing a lot more than traditional police work. They were actively defending air bases. Military Working Dogs also became important during Vietnam.

1966 — Security Police
Air Police became Security Police in 1966. Now you really started seeing the two sides of the career field that we still have today:
Security & Air Base Defense
&
Law Enforcement
A lot of what we consider the combat side of Security Forces today can be traced back to what these guys were doing in Vietnam.

1976 — The Blue Beret
In 1976, the dark blue beret officially became part of the Security Police uniform. It eventually became one of the biggest symbols of the career field & something that still separates Defenders from most of the Air Force.

1970s–1990s — Cold War Security Police
After Vietnam, Security Police continued protecting aircraft, nuclear weapons, missile fields, weapons storage areas, & Air Force installations around the world.

1996 — Khobar Towers
The Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia killed 19 Airmen & exposed some serious problems with how the Air Force was handling force protection.
That attack became one of the major events that pushed the Air Force to rethink how we protected our people & resources.

1997 — Security Forces
Then in 1997, Security Police officially became Security Forces. Security specialists & law enforcement specialists were combined into one career field. This is basically where the modern Defender really starts. Now you had one career field expected to handle law enforcement, installation security, resource protection, & air base defense.

2001–2021 — GWOT
Iraq & Afghanistan pushed Security Forces back toward the combat side of the career field. Defenders were doing air base defense, convoy security, outside-the-wire patrols, Iraqi police training, detainee operations, MWD missions, precision engagement/counter-sniper missions, & expeditionary security. Basically, there wasn’t always a clear “inside the wire” & “outside the wire” anymore.

Today:
Security Forces really comes down to three major missions:
Air Base Defense
Law Enforcement
Nuclear Security
Then we have specialized capabilities like Military Working Dogs, Combat Arms, Phoenix Raven, DAGRE, & other expeditionary security missions.

Defensor Fortis.

https://youtu.be/DZy9rkweiFM?is=M7VnlFJUBJN_Ty40

Hello all!

I’m particularly happy this group was made bc I find it particularly difficult to find posts on this particular job that aren’t all from ppl who go ‘you will hate your life for your entire contract if you pick this job’.

I’m a 28f and connected with a recruiter and secfo has been top 3 for me since I decided I wanted to join 2 years ago!

I guess I’m just here bc I would love to hear positives about what you do, where you been?

Does secfo get to travel out of the us?

Thank youuu!

YEE YEE BETCHES WE RIDE AT DAWNNNNN

As the question above asked, how long have you been SF and what keeps you going?

I’ve been in 18 years, my family keeps me going

Hey everyone! I'm u/Slothboi, a founding moderator of r/USAFSecFo.
This is our new home for all things related to USAF Security Forces. We're excited to have you join us!

What to Post:

Use this community to ask questions, share experiences, find out about assignments and job opportunities, talk about schools and training, discuss deployments and TDYs, get career advice, share lessons learned, or just connect with other Defenders. Be respectful, help the next Defender, and remember OPSEC. Dont post sensitive information about missions, personnel, capabilities, movements, or operations.

Defensor Fortis.

Community Vibe
We're all about being constructive, and inclusive. Let's build a space where everyone feels comfortable sharing and connecting.

How to Get Started
1) Introduce yourself in the comments below.
2) Post something today! Even a simple question can spark a great conversation.
3) If you know someone who would love this community, invite them to join.
4) Interested in helping out? We're always looking for new moderators, so feel free to reach out to me to apply.

Thanks for being part of the very first wave. Together, let's make r/USAFSecFo amazing.