A member of the US Military Police directs vehicle traffic with outstretched arms at the main gate of US headquarters in Berlin. The soldier wears the characteristic steel helmet with the ‘T’ marking of the Military Police, along with uniform and white web belt. In the background, the white guard building of the entrance area is visible. The photograph documents the everyday Allied presence in the western part of the divided city: the US headquarters was in 1955 a central symbol of American occupation authority and, at the same time, a visible expression of the Western security promise during the Cold War. The passing vehicles underscore the regulated, institutionalized service operations that characterized life in the American sector of Berlin.