However, the unit arrived in Japan for occupation duty as the 3rd Platoon, 98th Reconnaissance Troop Mechanized, of the 98th Infantry Division, where it eventually was inactivated on 16 February 1946, in Charlotte, NC.

Instead, the Army rushed it to South Vietnam, the Brigade departing on 15 July 1966 via transport ships and arriving on 14 August 1966 at Tây Ninh Combat Base.

The brigade conducted Operation Cedar Falls, Gadsden, Lancaster, Junction City, Benton, and Attleboro (in War Zone C of Tay Ninh Province).

The Brigade is also designated by USARPAC as the Validation Authority for RC forces mobilized onto Title 10 United States Code, Active Duty.

Since 2001, the 196th Infantry Brigade has trained more than 10,000 Soldiers that deployed to support combat operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Horn of Africa, and the Southern Philippines.

From 1998 to the early 2020s, the 196th Infantry Brigade supported annual USARPAC and United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) Theater Security Cooperation Program (TSCP) exercises such as Balikatan, Cobra Gold, Yama Sakura, Talisman Saber, Hamel, and Terminal Fury.

The brigade continues to serve as the USARPAC executive agent for Training and Readiness Oversight (TRO) over the Alaska, Guam and Hawaii National Guard Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Civil Support Teams (CSTs), and the Hawaii Army National Guard Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High Explosive (CBRNE) Enhanced Force Package (CERFP).

JPMRC provide enhanced live, virtual, constructive collective training opportunities to USARPAC Battalion Task Forces and Brigade Combat Teams at their home station and at sites throughout the Indo-Pacific.

Recipients of the Medal of Honor include: The dramatic TV series Tour of Duty, which ran on CBS from 1987 to 1990, depicted a platoon of infantrymen serving in Vietnam from the 196th during the show's first season.