The 177th Military Police Brigade was first formed in the Michigan National Guard nearly 100 years ago on 14 June 1921 as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 1st Separate Squadron, Cavalry. In 1940 it was redesignated as a Coast Artillery unit before its induction into Federal service on 24 February 1941, where it was again redesignated, this time as 593rd Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion. It was deployed to the Aleutian Islands before its inactivation on 1 November 1944.
It wasn’t until 1976 that the unit was designated as Military Police organization, but nearly a decade earlier it had helped Detroit authorities with policing when the infamous Detroit riots erupted in the summer of 1967. Inducted into Federal service as the 46th Infantry Division Artillery, the unit assisted local police and other National Guard units restore order over the course of five days in July 1967; it was released from active Federal service on 2 August 1967.
On 7 November 1985, the 177th Military Police Brigade was established through the redesignation of the 177th Military Police Group. Less than three years later, the 177th Military Police Brigade Shoulder Sleeve Insignia, or unit patch, was approved for wear. Rendered all in green and yellow, colors of the Military Police Corps, the insignia features two pairs of keys, with each pair positioned with one key inverted and upside-down in relation to the other; this orientation suggests the Brigade’s mission of law enforcement, apprehension, detention, and protections. The yellow keys are superimposed on a green gear symbolizing Detroit as the “Motor City.”
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