Changes to the brigade included the addition of some 300 Stryker vehicles, and several Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. The transformation was intended to increase the brigade's mobility in operations as well as reduce its logistical footprint. The project entailed around $1.2 billion in construction costs for training facilities, motor pools, and other buildings. This transformation was completed when the unit was formally redesignated on 16 October 2003. After the transformation was complete, the 172d became the third Stryker brigade in the US Army, with a force of 3,500 soldiers. In 2005, the new Brigade Commander, Colonel Mike Shields, changed the motto of the infantry brigade from "Snow Hawks" to "Arctic Wolves". In early 2005, the brigade was alerted that it would be deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom for the first time. To prepare, it participated in several large exercises at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana. The 220th Military Police Brigade, a reserve unit, provided additional soldiers to assist the brigade in the exercises during their final preparations for deployment.