ASSOCIATED PRESS U.S. Maj. Gen. Eric Olson awarded medals yesterday to soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, based in Kearney Base in the province of Paktika, near the Pakistani border. Olson warned against cutting American forces in Afghanistan, saying that insurgents remain a grave threat and that neither Afghan nor NATO forces are ready to fill the breach.

Marines hoping to
return in April

The Kaneohe unit was involved in
the battle for Fallujah, Iraq

After participating in the month-long battle for Fallujah and providing security for Iraqi's national elections on Jan. 30, Kaneohe's more than 900 Marines hope to be home by late April.

During a telephone news conference from Kuwait last night, Sgt. Maj. Michael Berg -- the top enlisted Marine of Kaneohe's 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment -- said the unit hopes to leave Camp Virginia by the end of next week.

Berg said the unit, as part of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, will arrive in Okinawa by the first week in April and will be there for two to three weeks before flying home.

The 1st Battalion, led by Lt. Col. Michael Ramos, left the Windward Oahu base in July in what was supposed to be a routine seven-month deployment to Okinawa. Instead, in late August, the unit diverted to Kuwait and entered Iraq in late October.

Ramos said there is still much more work to be done in Iraq. However, he pointed out that Fallujah is "a great example" of what can be done.

"That was the stronghold, the heart of the insurgency. You never would have thought that people would have participated in elections in that city, but thousands came out to vote after it was secured and that's what is being done across Iraq."

On Nov. 8 the 1st Battalion was part of the "epic battle" for the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, said Ramos, noting it was the "experience of a lifetime."

Ramos added: "To participate and watch the free and fair elections in Iraq is a life-changing experience. To see the sheer bravery, the courage under fire, the patriotism of these men has been awesome."

Ramos said the unit was in the thick of battle on Nov. 10, the 230th birthday of the Marine Corps. "It was about day two or day three of the battle for Fallujah. ... We encountered intense fire from RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades), small arms and machine guns. We were fighting a fanatical enemy entrenched in the city. Our Marines had conducted the assault in a professional manner -- aggressive, confident, running to the sounds of the guns ... winning decisively."

He added: "We found ourselves securing a mosque that had been used by terrorists, by the insurgents, as a terrorist-training area. There were weapons stockpiled there. There were terrorist literature there and training aids."

At dusk that day, Ramos celebrated the Marine Corps' 230th birthday by cutting an MRE pound cake with his K-Bar knife and, in the tradition of the Corps, served it to the oldest member of his unit -- Berg, 43 -- and the youngest, 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Cody Branham.

That day, the 1st Battalion lost a Marine and a Navy corpsman. The month-long battle for Fallujah would result in 17 combat casualties.

During the four-month Iraqi deployment, the 1st Battalion lost 43 sailors and two Navy corpsmen from Hawaii. The unit was awarded 21 Purple Hearts.

The Fallujah conflict also could result in the awarding of the Medal of Honor for Sgt. Rafael Peralta, 25, of San Diego, who was killed Nov. 15.

Ramos said he believes Peralta's decision to use his body to smother the blast from a hand grenade to save the members of his squad deserves the nation's highest medal for valor.