On 15 August 1990, "B" Battery, 3rd LAAM Battalion boarded at Morehead City, NC to support Operation Desert Shield in Southwest Asia as part of the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (4th MEB). They arrived in Saudi Arabia on 14 October and were placed under the operational control of 2nd Light Antiaircraft Missile Battalion (2nd LAAM) who had arrived a month earlier. The remainder of 3rd LAAM did not depart until December. The commanding officer and 63 Marines flew into theater as part of the battalion's advanced party arriving on 25 December while the main body, which departed 14 December, arrived via the merchant ship "Sterna Trader" on 4 January 1991. 3rd LAAM's "A" Battery was sent to Bahrain to provide air defense for Shaikh Isa Air Base while the remainder of "B" Battery remained in Saudi Arabia. HAWK Batteries from 2nd and 3rd LAAM Battalions covered the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions at the breach point where they entered Kuwait. The batteries were tied in with the Tactical Air Operations Center (TAOC) run by Marine Air Control Squadron 2 (MACS-2) for the air defense picture. No HAWK missile engagement took place during the conflict. On 11 Mar 1991 the battalion began preparation for retrograde back to their home station.