1940's

Air Police 1949, you can see in the photo some are wearing the new AF stripes and some are still using the old army rank.

World War II to Korea - 1940’s

As World War II progressed, AAF MP 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 Henry H. Arnold, marking what the Air Force Security Forces celebrate as its birth date. 

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, 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. 

All Army Air Corps officers were officially transferred to the United States Air Force by September 26, 1947. Included in this transfer were all military police officers then serving in MP (aviation) companies along with the personnel of the Army Air Forces Air Provost Marshal’s (APM) office. 

On January 2, 1948, General Order No. 1, Headquarters (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. Approximately 22 MP companies were converted en mass to Air Police squadrons, although the designation of Air Police did not come into use until November 1948.

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