U.S. Air Force
Security Forces
The Air Force's ground combat and law enforcement specialists. From base defense and entry control to ICBM security and deployed convoy ops, Security Forces defends what the Air Force needs to fly and fight.
Air Police to Defenders
1947 - Present
VIETNAM
TET OFFENSIVE 1968
Tet
Offensive 1968
Tan Son Nhut
AB Attacked
Perimeter
Defense
ABGD
AIR BASE GROUND DEF
Air Police and Security Police defended air bases across Vietnam from ground attack, sapper infiltration, and mortar fire. During the Tet Offensive in January 1968, Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon came under massive ground assault. Security Police fought hand-to-hand to defend the flight line. The battle earned the 377th Security Police Squadron a Valorous Unit Award. Air base ground defense became a core SF mission that remains central to the career field today.
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GWOT
OIF / OEF
Convoy
Security Ops
ECP
Entry Control Points
IED
Route Clearance Spt
Deployed
GROUND COMBAT
During OIF and OEF, Security Forces deployed in ground combat roles unprecedented for the Air Force. SF teams ran entry control points, conducted convoy security through IED-laden routes, provided detainee operations, and trained Iraqi and Afghan security forces. SF airmen earned Purple Hearts, Bronze Stars with Valor, and Combat Action Medals. They fought as ground combatants in a service historically defined by airpower. The Defenders proved they could fight on the ground when the mission required it.
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3P
Security Forces AFSC
Defensor
Fortis
K-9
Military Working Dogs
Largest
AF Career Field