reactivated and once again assigned to the 1st Brigade, 24th Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia, as part of the Army's Rapid Deployment Force (RDF), where it provided a significant portion of the RDF's heavy tank capability. In this role, the unit participated in various Southwest Asia operations and deployments, including to Cyprus and Egypt (Operation Bright Star). In 1986, not long before again being inactivated, 2–70 Armor modernized from M60A3's to M1A1 Abrams tanks under the Division 86 force structure. In order to facilitate unit realignment according to the U.S. Army Regimental System (USARS), on 15 October 1987, 2–70 Armor was inactivated at Fort Stewart. On 16 December 1987, the battalion was again activated and assigned to the 1st Armored Division, Erlangen, West Germany, where it remained until it deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1990. 3–70 Armor was activated in 1975 and assigned to the 2nd Brigade of the reactivated 5th Infantry Division at Fort Polk, Louisiana. The battalion was equipped with M60A1 tanks. They were reorganized as a modernized "J-Series" battalion, with four tank companies instead of three, in 1985, but the M60A1 series tanks were not replaced by M1 Abrams tanks until 1988. In 1989, the Army reorganized its regimental system under the U.S. Army Regimental System (USARS) and the 70th Armor Regiment again saw units redesignated. Most of the battalions of the 70th Armor retained their prior designations and bases, but the reorganization saw the creation of a fourth battalion (4–70 Armor) for the first time. This expansion reflected the military buildup begun under the Reagan administration. All the battalions of the 70th Armor Regiment remained active until after the disbanding of the Warsaw Pact in February 1991 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. At the time of reorganization, the units were designated as follows: 1–70 Armor – 5th Infantry Division, Fort Polk, Louisiana 2–70 Armor – 1st Armored Division, Ferris Barracks, Erlangen, Germany 3–70 Armor – 5th Infantry Division, Fort Polk, Louisiana 4–70 Armor – formed from 2–81 Armor, Ferris Barracks, Erlangen, Germany, and assigned to 1st Armored Division, Germany. Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm After Saddam Hussein ordered Iraqi forces into Kuwait in August 1990, the 1st Armored Division was alerted for deployment from Germany to Saudi Arabia to participate in Operation Desert Shield. Assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, both 2–70 Armor and 4–70 Armor shipped their equipment