Although Barrowclough arrived in New Caledonia with his divisional headquarters in November 1942, the main body of his command was not in place until January 1943. Once on the island, his division began training in amphibious landings and jungle warfare to prepare it for forthcoming offensive operations while he set about dealing with the administrative and logistical problems of integrating the division into the American command structure. The 3rd Division was a division in name only, consisting of two infantry brigades – the 8th and 14th – instead of the three of a conventional infantry division, and he unsuccessfully agitated for expansion. New Zealand could not supply enough manpower to have two full infantry divisions in the field, and the government's preference was to retain the 2nd New Zealand Division, still in North Africa, at full strength. Barrowclough was unhappy at this decision and his relationship with Army headquarters in Wellington and its Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Edward Puttick, became strained. The two brigade divisional structure also constrained how the 3rd Division could be employed in offensive operations, as it could not be used as a replacement for an American division due to its reduced number of personnel. Being the only unit in the South Pacific Area outside of the American supply chain also caused logistical problems as the division used British equipment.