16th Sustainment Brigade The 16th Sustainment Brigade is a sustainment brigade of the United States Army based at Warner Barracks in Bamberg , Germany . It is a subordinate unit of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command of the Seventh Army . Activated in the summer of 2007 , the brigade traces its lineage to the 7th and 16th Corps Support Groups which combined to form it . As the only sustainment brigade active in US Army Europe , the brigade provides sustainment for all of the forces of US Army ' s commands for Europe and Africa . It saw two deployments to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as the 16th Corps Support Group . It deployed to Iraq for its first tour as a Sustainment brigade from July 2008 to October 2009 . Organization . The 16th Sustainment Brigade is directly subordinate to the 21st Theater Sustainment Command , which in turn is subordinate to the Seventh Army , United States Army Europe . The Brigade Headquarters is located at US Army Garrison , Bamberg , and has three subordinate battalions currently supporting sustainment operations also located at Bamberg is the 16th Special Troops Battalion . The 18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion is located at Grafenwöhr , Germany , and the 39th Transportation Battalion is in Kaiserlautern , Germany . History . Origin . The unit was first constituted on 29 October 1965 in the Regular Army as the 16th General Support Group . It was then activated on 10 December 1965 in the Dominican Republic . The group returned to the continental United States and was subsequently inactivated on 19 September 1968 at Fort Benning , Georgia . The group was redesignated on 16 September 1987 as the 16th Support Group and activated in Germany . Through the 1990s , the 16th CSG also participated in operations in Kuwait , Saudi Arabia and Kosovo . It received its distinctive unit insignia on 14 April 1988 . On 1 May 2002 , the group was re - aligned to include the 181st Transportation Battalion located at Turley Barracks in Manheim , Germany , and the 485th Corps Support Battalion , located on Hutier Kaserne , to increase their combat service support capabilities . In March 2003 , the 16th Corps Support Group and its battalions deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . The group provided logistical support to include direct support maintenance , transportation and supply support to all units in the operation . The group saw a second deployment to Iraq in October 2005 . During this deployment , soldiers of the group executed over 1 , 500 sustainment convoys which provided over 250 million US gallons ( 950 , 000 m ) of fuel , 1 million cases of bottled water and 60 million US gallons ( 230 , 000 m ) of purified water to allied forces . On 19 September 2006 , the group rotated out of Iraq and back to Germany , replaced by the 82nd Sustainment Brigade . Activation . In January 2007 , the lineage and honors were designated to be transferred to the 16th Sustainment Brigade . On 16 July 2007 the group was reorganized as part of an effort to reform support groups into larger , more versatile sustainment brigade s . It became the 16th Sustainment Brigade and was subsequently activated at Warner Barracks in Bamberg , Germany . The 16th Corps Support Group and the 7th Corps Support Group had been deactivated and combined to form the new formation . Their subordinate units had been moved and redesignated as well . This move made the 16th Sustainment Brigade the only brigade - sized logistics unit supporting United States Army Europe . It was put under the command of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command . The move was part of an overall streamlining of the Command ' s logistics element , as all major logistics formations were redesigned to be modular and more efficient . The sustainment brigade not only retained all previous logistics functions and responsibilities , but also assumed additional services , like finance , medical and signal capabilities . The brigade was composed of the 16th Special Troops Battalion headquartered at Bamberg , the 391st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion at Bamberg , and the 18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion in Grafenwoehr . It also received its shoulder sleeve insignia . On 29 November 2007 , it was announced that the 16th Sustainment Brigade would be deployed to Iraq in summer of 2008 . It would be part of a force of 8 , 000 soldiers from US Army Europe to deploy . The brigade was just one of over 20 major units from Europe to deploy to the Middle East in 2008 ; most of these units came from the 21st Theater Sustainment Command and V Corps . Throughout the Spring of 2008 , the unit prepared for the deployment by conducting training exercises in Germany . In July 2008 , the brigade deployed to Iraq for its first tour in Operation Iraqi Freedom as a sustainment brigade . Its mission in the country was to provide sustainment and force protection operations in support of Multi - National Division North with life support and logistical operations . On 22 July 2008 , the brigade ' s soldiers underwent final preparations before departing Rammstein Air Base for northern Iraq . The brigade operated out of Contingency Operating Base Q - West , which was supported by a dozen Iraqi small businesses . In October 2008 , the brigade ' s leaders attended a conference at Joint Base Balad . Hosted by the 3rd Sustainment Command ( Expeditionary ) , the conference was attended by the 1st , 7th , 16th , 55th , and 371st Sustainment Brigades , as well as the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team . They discussed streamlining and coordinating sustainment throughout the region . Among the brigade ' s operations was a water project in the Ninewa province . The brigade operated with US Air Force and Iraqi Army engineers to repair infrastructure that brought water from the Tigris River to the entire province , including the base . The brigade has also undertaken several other support duties for units operating throughout northern Iraq . The brigade participated in joint exercises with the 18th Military Police Brigade and other elements of the 21st Theater Support Command in Spring of 2009 . The exercises involved extensive battle simulations and role play missions to test the overall effectiveness of the units . In October 2010 , the brigade served as the command and control element for Saber Strike 11 , a cooperative training effort aimed at improving interoperability and preparing Latvian , Estonian , Lithuanian and U . S . troops for upcoming deployments in support of the International Security Assistance Forces in Afghanistan .