8                                U.S. MARINES IN THE PERSIAN GULF, 1990-1991


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                                          Drawing by sgt CharI~a 6. Grow, USMC
                       Task Force Shepherd LAV-25.

    The process had barely finished when the remainder of the division received
 movement orders. While not unexpected, the orders created a dilemma. Many
 battalions were significantly understrength after transferring personnel to the 7th
 MEB and it was at that juncture the consolidation of units began. The division
 Assistant Chief of Staff, G-l, Colonel Joseph R. Holzbauer, working with the
 Headquarters Marine Corps replaced the companies lost to consolidation and to
 the battalions assigned to the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade by using units
 drawn from Okinawa and Hawaii.~~ Even so, the division departed for Saudi
 Arabia with just 80 per cent of its authorized strength.
    Regimental Combat Team 3 (RCT 3), for example, reflected the diverse
 origins of those units rounding out the division's organization. It consisted of
 two infantry battalions and a tank battalion. The 1st Battalion, 3d Marines, came
 with the regiment, and the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, came from the 2d Marine
 Division, via Okinawa. Only the 1st Tank Battalion had been an element of the
 1st Marine Division. Even so, additional augmentation to the battalion consisted
 of Company D, 2d Tank Battalion, which bad been assigned to the 3d Marine
 Division.
    The 7th MEB had preceded the division to Saudi Arabia. The ground combat
 element of the brigade was at that time designated Regimental Landing Team 7
 (RLT 7), comprising five infantry battalions, one tank battalion, one assault
 amphibian battalion, one combat engineer battalion, one artillery battalion, and
 one light armored infantry company. On 6 September 1990, when the 7th MEB
 was absorbed by I MEF, RLT 7 reported to the division with: