Camp Bullis in Texas is where all levels of Air Base Ground Defense (ABGD) are instructed, the course ranges in length from 4–6 weeks.

Units were deployed throughout the European, Asian and African theaters and designed to defend against local ground attacks.

In haste, Air Police serving as the cadre of this force were outfitted with armored vehicles, machine guns and recoilless rifles.

After the Korean War, General Curtis LeMay had the Air Police begin the Combat Arms Program, to better train airmen in the use of weapons.

This concept has also been proven effective during the Indochina War from 1946 to 1954, when the Viet Minh regularly and successfully attacked French air bases.

Nightly at every air base, sentry dog teams were deployed as a detection and warning screen in the zone separating combat forces from the perimeter.

In 1968 the Air Force accepted the Safe Side Program's recommendation to establish 559-man Combat Security Police Squadrons (CSPS) organized into three field flights.

On 15 March 1968 the 821st CSPS began a hasty training program at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and was in place at Phan Rang Air Base on its TDY deployment by 15 April.

[15] The vindication for the Safe Side program occurred during the Battle of Tan Son Nhut, as part of the Tet Offensive, on 31 January 1968, when Tan Son Nhut Airbase was attacked by a combined force of seven North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong battalions, composing an enemy force of 2,500 enemy troops.

Although the female security specialist program was soon after shut down, they have the distinction of being the first women permitted into any combat role in the entire U.S. Armed Forces.

six-shot revolver to the Beretta M9, a 9mm semi-automatic pistol with a standard 15-round magazine, which brought the Security Police in line with the rest of the United States Armed Forces.

Also in 1987 the Air Base Ground Defense School was moved from Camp Bullis to Fort Dix, where the Army was given control of the training.

[1][18] In August 1990, Security Police were deployed to Saudi Arabia as a part of Operation Desert Shield, where they were responsible for guarding airbases, dignitary support, and counterterrorism.

Security Policemen SSgt Alfredo Guerrero, SrA Corey Grice and A1C Christopher Wager received the Airman's Medal for their actions prior to and after the terrorist attack.

Three months later the 822nd Security Forces Squadron assumed the role, and conducted patrols outside the airbase to deter attack and build relations with local villagers.

Throughout the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Security Forces specialists, and airmen as a whole were pressed into more ground combat roles, to include running convoys.

Some Security Forces specialists were also attached to Army and Marine infantry units to provide either manpower or military working dogs.

[22][23] - Emergency Service Teams;[24] - Phoenix Raven;[25] - Stinger Missile Program;[26] - The Elite Guard;[27] - Close Precision Engagement (CPE) teams;[28][29] - U.S. Air Force Tactical Response Force (TRF);[30] - Deployed Aircraft Ground Response Element (DAGRE);[31] - Security Forces Marine Patrol Flight;[32] - E4 B NEACP/NAOC Duty;[33] - Military Working Horse Units;[34] - Military working dog teams;[28] - Base Honor Guard.

[34] The Strategic Air Command's Elite Guard, an Air Police unit first established in December 1956 to provide security at USAF SAC headquarters, was the first USAF unit officially authorized to wear a blue beret (with affixed SAC patch) in 1957 as part of their distinct Elite Guard uniform.

This experimental and specially trained Air Base Ground Defense (ABGD) unit adopted a light blue beret displaying a falcon as its emblem.

[40] Elsewhere, during the Vietnam War, although not an authorized uniform item, some local security police commanders approved a dark blue beret similar to the SAC Elite Guard beret for their units as a less-conspicuous alternative to the official white Security Police cover for certain specialized personnel.

In Thailand during the late 1960s and early 1970s, Military Working Dog handlers assigned to the 6280th SPS at the Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base sported a dark blue beret with no insignia.

Significant opposition to the beret from senior colonels and Major Command (MAJCOM) Chiefs was gradually overcome by the popularity of the concept with personnel.

Inspired by the Strategic Air Command Elite Guard and Operation Safeside Security Police, the beret represents heritage and strength.

Because of the nature of the threat, our airmen are fighting the global war on terror on the front lines, and we owe it to them to provide training, equipment and resources to be effective.

Lt. Col. Belinda Petersen, a spokeswoman for the Air Force Personnel Center, said the increase in deployment duration is an effort to "improve predictability and stability for airmen and their families."

[54] On 2 March 2011, a senior airman assigned to the 48th Security Forces Squadron at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, and an Airman 1st Class assigned to the 86th Vehicle Readiness Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, were shot and killed by a 21-year-old Kosovo native of Albanian descent, at Frankfurt International Airport, Germany.

[55] The shooter's relatives in Kosovo told the Associated Press that he was a devout Muslim and German federal prosecutors said they suspect he was motivated by extremist, Islamist ideology.

A U.S. law enforcement official says the shooter shouted "Allahu Akbar", or "God is Great" in Arabic, as he opened fire.

[57] On 21 December 2015, two non-commissioned officers serving in the 105th Base Defense Squadron, part of the New York Air National Guard's 105th Airlift Wing, were killed, along with four special agents with the Department of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, outside of Bagram Airfield by a suicide bomber utilizing a motorcycle.