; Whereas, in December 1990, in response to the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein, the 3d Brigade of the 3d Infantry Division deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield; Whereas the 3d Brigade of the 3d Infantry Division distinguished itself as the Advanced Guard Brigade leading the main attack of the 1st Armored Division and VII Corps against the Iraqi Republican Guard Forces Command as part of the 100-hour ground assault on Iraq from February 24 to 28, 1991; Whereas, as of the date on which the Persian Gulf War ended, the 3d Brigade of the 3d Infantry Division had, during that conflict, destroyed 105 enemy tanks, 70 armored personnel carriers, and 92 artillery pieces and captured 836 prisoners; Whereas, from 2000 to 2001, elements of the 3d Infantry Division deployed to Bosnia and Kosovo in support of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (commonly known as UNMIBH ); Whereas the 3d Infantry Division began its participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom on March 20, 2003, leading the coalition assault into Iraq; Whereas, as of April 4, 2003, the 3d Infantry Division had entered the Saddam International Airport and renamed it the Baghdad International Airport; Whereas, from April 5 to 9, 2003, the 3d Infantry Division was the vanguard unit in the march to Baghdad, leading what would become known as the Thunder Run into the heart of the city and effectively crippling the Iraqi regime; Whereas, from January 2005 to January 2006, the 3d Infantry Division returned to Iraq to provide security for independent elections and the peaceful transfer of power to newly and democratically elected Iraqi officials; Whereas the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 3d Infantry Division was the first Army brigade to serve 3 tours in Iraq; Whereas, in March 2007, as part of Task Force Marne, the 3d Infantry Division was given a large area of responsibility in Iraq, including Multi-National Forces–Center and Multi-National Forces–West