Green and yellow, branch colors of the Military Police Corps since April 1922, are predominant in the color version of the 221st Military Police Brigade Shoulder Sleeve Insignia, or unit patch. Approved on 15 July 1972, the patch features a griffin—a mythological creature with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion—above a radiant sun rising above a wavy blue line. In heraldry, griffings are symbols of vigilance, agility, strength, and protection, all attributes that refer to the overall mission of the Brigade.
The Brigade was based in California at the time the insignia was approved, and its design pays homage to its home area with the golden sun and its rays (it is often referred to as the Sunshine State); the sun also exposes truth and is a symbol of authority, again related to the Brigade’s mission. A wavy blue line simulates a coast line with an expanse of water beyond it, another reference to the Brigade’s California location.
An Army Reserve unit, the 221st Military Police Brigade was inactivated in 1994. It had been originally constituted in 1959 in the Army Reserve as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 221st Military Police Group and assigned to the Sixth United States Army. It was given Brigade status on 10 December 1971, with its Headquarters organization changed to Headquarters and Headquarters Company on 1 January 1976. Its motto was "Command And Control."