Looking Back: The Military Security Guard Unit
By Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Thobo-Carlsen (Retired), CMPA Director of History & Heritage.
Today's Military Police Security Service, which provides specialized security support to help protect Canadian diplomatic missions abroad, is the successor of an earlier organization called the Military Security Guard Unit (MSGU). The MSGU was also staffed by military police personnel and operated from 1990 until 2008, at which point it was renamed following the formation of Canadian Forces Military Police Group.
Origins
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The first tentative steps taken by Canada's military police in the area of diplomatic security can be traced to the Canadian Provost Corps. After the Second World War a Canadian Army Liaison Establishment (CALE) was created in London, England, and a small supporting provost detachment was formed within it in 1952. The main role of this Det was to provide physical security support to the tri-service Canadian Joint Staff component—which was collocated with the Canadian High Commission in London—and its duties included pass control, identification checks, security and narcotics screening, fingerprinting, and the receipt and issue of military identification cards. CALE Provost Det pers also provided escorts and other security services in support of visits to London by Canada's Prime Minister. Additionally, these provosts conducted liaison duties with the Royal Military Police, London Metropolitan Police and local courts when required.[1]
By 1952 the Department of External Affairs had found it necessary to form an internal security guard capability at certain other diplomatic missions by using civilian public servants. Initially, the primary focus these civilian guards was on the protection of classified material, but over time they assumed some additional security responsibilities. Notwithstanding, on several occasions temporary military augmentation was required at diplomatic missions located in conflict zones such as Vietnam (1974) and Cyprus (1966–67).
By the mid-1970s External Affairs wished to improve the physical, information and personnel security measure for its oversees missions, and this included the possible replacement of its internal security personnel with more versatile and better-trained security specialists.
The wisdom of this approach was confirmed after an incident on 23 Feb 1976 when five men, armed with rifles and grenades, took 24 hostages at the Canadian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. Fortunately, the hostage-takers surrendered to Lebanese security forces after an 8-hour stand-off and none of the hostages were hurt.
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CALE Provost Detachment staff, wearing blue "Patrol Dress" uniforms, pose at MacDonald House, Grosvenor Square, London, England, circa 1962–64. Left to right: LCpl N. C. Grigg, LCpl D. C. McLeod, Cpl G. D. Langstaff and LCpl D. W. Sherburne. (DND/via mpmuseum.org)
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Newspaper article mentioning the six military police security guards deployed to the Canadian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1977 (Ottawa Citizen, Friday, 10 June 1977, page 61)
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Following this incident, the departments of External Affairs and National Defense initially entered into an agreement for a six-person military police team to take over security duties at the Canadian embassy in Beirut when that facility was re-opened in the summer of 1977. This was followed in late 1978 by a second military security guard (MSG) team being sent to protect Canada's embassy in Iran (see MP support to the Canadian Embassy in Tehran during the Iranian Revolution).
The success of these first two MSG teams cemented the desire of External Affairs to replace all of the civil service security guards at its diplomatic missions with military police personnel. In 1982 the Department of External Affairs and the Department of National Defense concluded a phased plan for this transition and signed a Memorandum of Understanding to guide its implementation. By September of that year military police security guards were operating at nine diplomatic missions abroad.
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Unit Formation
The second phase of the plan culminated on 1 May 1990 when the Military Security Guard Unit was formally stood up to coordinate and conduct all MSG operations. Major Wayne Kendall was appointed as the unit's first commanding officer.[2] The unit's original establishment, approved by the Minister of National Defence on 18 April 1990, comprised one Security Officer (CO) and 63 Military Police non-commissioned members to staff its headquarters in Ottawa and 27 diplomatic missions abroad.
During the previous year, in July 1989, Corporal Eleanor Hodder became the first women to serve in a military security guard capacity when she was posted to the MSG team in London, England.
In the spring of 1991 an article appeared in the English version of the Canadian Force's Sentinel magazine that provided a very good overview of the mission and operation of the new MSGU.[3] That article, in its original format, can be downloaded and viewed by selecting the icon below:
The MSGU attained full operating capability in 1993 when the final phase of the conversion from External Affairs civilian guards to military police personnel was completed.
Unit badgeIn August 1996, soon after his appointment as Commanding Officer of the MSGU, Major Al Jones initiated a request for a unit badge and proposed the basic elements of the design that was ultimately adopted. Major Jones was assisted by a staff officer from the Directorate of History and Heritage and Charles R. Maier, PhD, from the Canadian Heraldic Authority in designing the final version. This badge (right), was approved by the Right Honorable Romeo Leblanc, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, and formally came into use on 20 June 1997 after being presented to the CO and members of the MSGU.
The blazon (heraldic description) of the badge design is: Within an annulus Sable inscribed with the unit’s name in letters Or a globe Azure displaying lines of latitude and longitude Or charged with a representation of a watchman figure from the Fox Warren totem pole in the National Museum of Civilization also Or garnished Sable and Gules.
The unit's motto, SECURITAS PER VIGILANTIAM, is Latin for "Security through vigilance."[4]
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Finalized artwork of the MSGU badge with the Governor General's endorsing signature (Canadian Heraldic Authority).
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Legacy
In 2008 the unit was renamed the Military Police Security Service (MPSS) and became a subordinate formation of the Canadian Forces Military Police Group. Notwithstanding, the unit's mandate to protect Canadian diplomatic missions remained unchanged as did its relationship with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade where unit personnel continued to work on secondment.
In 2012 an updated MPSS badge, carrying over the main design of the original MSGU badge, was approved to reflect the unit's new name. In the confirmation document for the revised badge the symbolism of the design was further explained as follows: The globe represents the mandate of the unit to protect Canadian diplomatic missions abroad. In Haida totem poles, the watchman figure is often seated at the top to protect the adjacent long house. Thus, the watchman figure represents the important work that the service performs.[5]
As of 2025, the MPSS comprises 76 personnel (all ranks) who continue, in the footsteps of the original MSGU, to coordinate and provide critical security services to 50 Canadian diplomatic missions abroad in support of Global Affairs Canada (as the former external/foreign affairs department is now known).
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Notes:
1. Captain P. A. H. Dupille, ed, Canadian Provost Silver Jubilee: 1940–1965 (Ottawa: Canadian Forces Headquarters, 1965), 70.
2. For additional details on the MSGU's creation see Major A. W. Kendall and Major D. Eves, "The Military Security Guard Unit," in On Guard for Thee: The Silver Anniversary of the Security Branch (Winnipeg: JOSTENS Canada Ltd, 1993), 142–145.
3. Major Gérard Baril, "Securing Canadian Embassies," Sentinel 27, no, 2 (1991), 29–30.
4. Additional information about the MSGU badge can be found on the Canadian Heraldic Authority website at https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/953.
5. Additional information about the MPSS badge can be found on the Canadian Heraldic Authority website at https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/2276.
Notes:
1. Captain P. A. H. Dupille, ed, Canadian Provost Silver Jubilee: 1940–1965 (Ottawa: Canadian Forces Headquarters, 1965), 70.
2. For additional details on the MSGU's creation see Major A. W. Kendall and Major D. Eves, "The Military Security Guard Unit," in On Guard for Thee: The Silver Anniversary of the Security Branch (Winnipeg: JOSTENS Canada Ltd, 1993), 142–145.
3. Major Gérard Baril, "Securing Canadian Embassies," Sentinel 27, no, 2 (1991), 29–30.
4. Additional information about the MSGU badge can be found on the Canadian Heraldic Authority website at https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/953.
5. Additional information about the MPSS badge can be found on the Canadian Heraldic Authority website at https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/2276.