US Air Force MOS Security Police Patch

In 1966 the Air Force retired the Air Police name and began calling its cops and base defenders the Security Police, the title stitched across the bottom of this patch. It held for more than thirty years, until the career field became Security Forces on 31 October 1997. That span runs from Vietnam through the Cold War to the Gulf War. An SP worked the gate, patrolled the flight line and answered the call when something went wrong on base. This patch is for the airmen who wore that title.

Vietnam is where the name was made. In 1967 the Safe Side program began training Security Police squadrons in light infantry tactics and special weapons, and the 1041st Security Police Squadron trained under it in a light blue beret. On 31 January 1968, during the Tet Offensive, combat-trained Security Police at Tan Son Nhut Air Base held off an attacking force of about 2,500 enemy troops. Sentry dog teams were ready for Vietnam by 1965, and the Air Force had been training working dogs for the entire Department of Defense since 1957. By 1971 the field had split into Law Enforcement Specialists, AFSC 811X2, and Security Specialists, AFSC 811X0, and in February 1976 the dark blue beret went worldwide.

The patch is a 4.5 by 3.25 inch rocker-style patch with a black merrowed edge. "UNITED STATES AIR FORCE" arcs across the top in white and "USAF SECURITY POLICE" runs along the bottom. The center field is a light Air Force blue. In the middle is the Security Police badge, a silver police shield lettered "DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE" around a gold and blue center, with a brown eagle spreading its wings over a white cloud at the top. Anyone who pinned that badge on will know it on sight.

SP work ran around the clock. Somebody stood on the perimeter at three in the morning, in snow at a northern base or in the heat of a flight line in Southeast Asia, guarding aircraft that could not be left alone. Somebody worked the gate when the cars backed up at shift change and answered the call when trouble started at the club. Tan Son Nhut showed what trained Security Police could do when a base came under attack. Ask an old SP about the job and he will tell you about the people on his flight before he tells you about the base.

It fits a shadow box with an old blue beret and a set of stripes, or a vest worn to a squadron reunion. It is also a good gift for a father or grandfather who wore the beret. Measures 4.5 x 3.25 inches with a merrowed edge and iron-on backing, and it can also be sewn on.