Berlin Brigade After the end of World War II , under the conditions of the Yalta and Potsdam agreements , Allied forces occupied West Berlin . This occupation lasted throughout the Cold War . The Berlin Brigade was the brigade - sized garrison forces based there by the British and American armies ; the French army also had units in Berlin , called Forces Françaises à Berlin . United States . The Berlin Brigade of the United States Army unit was an independent brigade based in Berlin ; its shoulder sleeve insignia was the U . S . Army Europe patch with Berlin tab . During the Berlin Wall Crisis of 1961 , the army reorganized the command structure of the forces in Berlin and created the U . S . Army Berlin and created the Berlin Brigade from the units already in the city . At this time , the infantry units of the brigade were organized according to the " pentomic " structure : One " battle group " consisted of five line ( rifle ) companies , a combat support company , and a headquarters & headquarters company . Berlin Brigade had the 2nd & 3rd battle groups of the 6th US Infantry Regiment assigned to it from 1960 through 1964 , when structure reverted to battalions . The brigade consisted of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 6th Infantry and 4th Battalion of the 18th Infantry . The 4th Battalion 18th Infantry was later changed to the 4th Battalion 6th Infantry . ( reflagged to 4th , 5th and 6th Battalions of the 502d Infantry Regiment ) , Battery C 94th Field Artillery ( replaced by Echo Battery 320th Field Artillery ) , Company F of the 40th Armor , 42nd Engineer Company , 42nd Military Police Company ( Customs ) , 287th Military Police Company ( Separate ) , 43rd and 76th Chemical Detachments , 279th Station Hospital ( became US Army Hospital Berlin in 1976 ) , 168th Medical Detachment ( Veterinary Service ) , 592nd Signal Company , 298th Army Band . The 168th and 298th share the distinction of being the longest - serving units in Berlin . They both arrived to the city in a 37 - vehicle convoy on 3 July 1945 . The commanders of both units were old high school classmates . From 1947 to 1987 , soldiers of the brigade were tasked with month - long , rotations at Spandau Prison . Along with British , French and Soviet soldiers until the last prisoner , Rudolph Hess died in 1987 . Until the end of the Cold War members of the brigade were eligible for the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany clasp . Because of the legal status of West Berlin , it was technically " occupied " territory left over from World War II . During the early 1980s , the U . S . Army Regimental System initiative renamed a large percentage of infantry , armor and artillery battalions to align overseas commands with units assigned to stateside brigades , reinforcing the Army ' s regimental designations and unit morale . The original intent was to initiate personnel replacement and rotations within regiments , a " next step " that did not provide sufficient flexibility to Army personnel managers . The impact on Berlin - based infantry battalions was to re - designate 2nd , 3rd and 4th Battalions , 6th Infantry Regiment to 4th , 5th and 6th Battalions , 502nd Infantry Regiment , respectively , during the summer of 1984 , assigning Berlin infantry units a shared identify with infantry battalions of 2nd Brigade , 101st Airborne Division . Under the treaties which enabled the reunification of Germany , all non - German military forces were required to leave Berlin . The Berlin Brigade was officially deactivated by President Bill Clinton on 6 July 1994 . Individual members of the brigade deployed to Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 – 1991 . But the first Berlin Brigade units to take part in an out - of - theater operation were the command - and - staff element of Headquarters and Headquarters Company ( HHC ) as well as B Company of the 6th Battalion , 502nd Infantry , and the 42nd Engineer Co . These units served in Operation Provide Comfort , a relief and protection mission for Iraqi Kurds . They served with a multinational " Allied Ground Combat Force " that also included British , French , Italian , Dutch , and Turkish infantry companies . Based in Silopi , Turkey , near the Iraqi border , from July to October 1991 , these ground forces were soon withdrawn to avoid entanglement in the local Turkish - PKK conflict and because it was decided that the US Air Force presence at Incirlik constituted an adequate deterrent to Iraqi attempts at encroaching on the Kurdish autonomous zone . Soldiers of this task force were authorized to wear the Berlin Brigade shoulder sleeve insignia as a combat patch on the right shoulder of their uniform , the first and only time elements of the Berlin Brigade were authorized to . Elements of the Berlin Brigade were the first combat units selected to deploy as a member of the United Nations Protectionary Forces ( UNPROFOR ) to Macedonia in July 1993 ; later to be renamed Task Force Able Sentry . Members of the Berlin Brigade also deployed in July 1994 , to Entebbe , Uganda as part of Joint Task Force Support Hope , to help prevent a humanitarian crisis resulting from large - scale refugee movements caused by the civil war in Rwanda . United Kingdom . The Berlin Infantry Brigade of the British Army was formed in October 1953 out of the force called " Area Troops Berlin " consisted of some 3 , 100 men in three infantry battalions , an armoured squadron , and a number of support units . its shoulder sleeve insignia was a red circle over a black background with the word Berlin in red on a black background running around the top . It was not initially part of the British Army of the Rhine despite being based in Germany . However , it is recorded , at the very least , by the mid - 1980s , that the brigade was indeed part of BAOR , being its second major component after I ( BR ) Corps . The military post code for Berlin was BFPO 45 . The actual three infantry battalions and armoured squadron assigned to Berlin were rotated regularly ; the single armoured squadron was detached from an armoured regiment assigned to I ( BR ) Corps . The infantry battalions were rotated every two years 7 Flight Army Air Corps , based at RAF Gatow , provided aviation support . Other units such as 62 Transport and Movements Squadron RCT , 14 Field Workshop REME , RAOC , 504 CRASC ( ODT ) , 131 DID RASC , Det No 2 Independent Petrol Station Platoon RASC , 31st Quartering and Barracks Office RASC , 121 & 122 Barracks Stores , 38 ( Berlin ) Field Squadron RE , 229 Signals Squadron and 3 Squadron 13 Signals Regiment Royal Signals , 3 Intelligence and Security Coy Int Corps , 247 Provost Coy RMP , 248 German Security Unit and the British Military Hospital ( BMH ) Berlin were also permanently based in Berlin . In 1992 the brigade was reduced to 2 battalions , then further reduced in 1993 to a single battalion . It was disbanded in September 1994 . including a dedication to the former personnel of 7350th Air Base Group , Großek , Michael ( 2012 ) ISBN 978 - 3 - 89950 - 993 - 9