committed U.S. troops to the theater, first to defend Saudi Arabia, and then to eject Iraqi troops from Kuwait. Deployment of advance elements of 3AD began in December, with the remaining deploying units arriving by January. Units that had drawn down were replaced or augmented back to full strength. As an example, 3–5 ADA was replaced by the 8th Infantry Division's 5th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery. Other units were attached to 3AD to bring it up to, and even beyond, full strength. Deployment and retraining The 3rd Armored Division, then commanded by Major General Paul Funk, was one of four U.S. heavy divisions deployed with VII Corps to the Gulf Region. The division and its equipment were shifted from Germany to Saudi Arabia, with Army National Guard and Army Reserve elements taking over some of their duties in Germany, while in others, kasernes were left virtually empty. This massive deployment was made possible by the end of the Cold War. After deployment, the division acclimated to the desert climate, and its troops faced new challenges in mobility, tactics and maintenance in a sandy and hot climate. Various National Guard and Army Reserve units were attached to the division for the duration of the conflict, swelling the division's size to over 20,000 troops – 25% larger than during its time in Germany. The majority of the division's troops never received Desert Battle Dress Uniforms due to equipment shortages, and fought instead in lightweight summer "woodland pattern" uniforms covered by tanker suits or chemical warfare protective MOPP suits. Deployment order of battle For Desert Storm, the division consisted of: 1st Brigade: Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 1st Brigade 4th Battalion, 32d Armor 4th Battalion, 34th Armor (from 8th ID (M)) 3d Battalion, 5th Cavalry 5th Battalion, 5th Cavalry 2d Battalion, 3d Field Artillery 2d Battalion, 29th Field Artillery (from 8th ID (M)) Battery A, 5th Battalion, 3d Air Defense Artillery (from 8th ID (M)) 12th Engineer Battalion (from 8th ID (M)) 503d Support Battalion 2d Brigade: HHC, 2d Brigade 3d Battalion, 8th Cavalry 4th Battalion, 8th Cavalry 4th Battalion, 18th Infantry 3d Brigade: HHC, 3d Brigade 2d Battalion, 67th Armor 4th Battalion, 67th Armor 5th Battalion, 18th Infantry Aviation Brigade: HHC, Aviation Brigade 4th Squadron, 7th Cavalry 2d Battalion, 227th Aviation (augmented with Co A, 5–229th AVN just before ground war began) 3d Battalion, 227th Aviation (detached and assigned to XVIII