MARINE AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER, TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. -- The main body of 900-plus Lava Dogs from 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, returned to their home duty station of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, Wednesday and Thursday following a six-week, pre-deployment training evolution at Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, Calif., and Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif. Deployment to these training areas was made to prepare them for an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan where they will support Operation Enduring Freedom.Additionally, more than 100 Marines who were training with and alongside the Distributed Operations platoon since July 8 at Fort Hunter Liggett, Jolon, Calif., were scheduled to arrive at Kaneohe Bay Thursday. The remaining 1/3 Marines in the rear party at Twentynine Palms are due to arrive back in Hawaii today.“I am very proud of the Marines from this battalion,” said 1/3 Commanding Officer Lt. Col. James Bierman, from Virginia. “These Marines have worked hard throughout this challenging training evolution. These guys are dirty; they’ve been either cold or hot the entire time; and they’ve been living off MREs (meals ready to eat), but the motivation and enthusiasm has been tremendous.”According to Master Gunnery Sgt. Carlos Craig, 1/3 operations chief and a native of Buffalo, N.Y., not only was the training 1/3 underwent these past six weeks some of the most rigorous he has ever seen in his 26-year career, it was also some of the most advanced.“Usually, battalions are known for making history in combat, like (1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment) did when we took Fallujah,” said Craig, describing the fight for the Iraqi city that has become, arguably, the most famous Marine Corps battle since Hue City during the Vietnam War. “But 1/3 also made history during this training deployment. Our Distributed Operations platoon is going to be the first such platoon sent into combat, when we deploy to Afghanistan, and 1/3’s Marines were also the first to take part in Mojave Viper, (also known as the combined arms training course), which recently replaced the old CAX (combined arms exercise). When you hear the phrase, ‘Tip of the spear,’ there’s probably a good chance they’re talking about 1/3.”A big part of being on the tip of that spear, according to Sgt. Maj. Michael Berg, 1/3 sergeant major, was the urban warfare training 1/3 underwent while at Twentynine Palms.“The Marine Corps had two ‘cities’ built out here in the desert — the main city, Gardez, and another town to the north called Baraki Barak — complete with hundreds of actual role players from the Middle East, working alongside additional role players from the Marine Corps who grew beards and dressed as locals,” said the Plymouth, N.H., native. “1/3 is the first battalion to go through this type of urban warfare training, which puts the Marines in some very realistic situations.”One of the reasons for the realism, in addition to the fact that there are ‘friendlies’ mixed together with ‘insurgents,’ is the fact that there are no pre-scripted scenarios.“Things can go good for the Marines, or they can go bad, depending on how the Marines react to given situations,” said Nada Rammo, an Iraqi-American linguist who served as an interpreter and translator for 1/3 during the urban warfare training evolution.“Most of the role players are actually from Middle Eastern countries and only Arabic is spoken by them during the training, so this is a great opportunity for Marines to see the culture of real life in Iraq or Afghanistan.”The urban warfare training in Gardez and Baraki Barak was part of 1/3’s battalion field exercise, a culminating event that began Friday and ended Monday evening.One of the first events of the exercise was a town hall meeting between Bierman and other key 1/3 personnel with the mayor, police chief, Afghan Army commander, imam (mosque prayer leader), and other tribal leaders of Gardez and Baraki Barak.“We simulated a relief in place of another Marine battalion and basically had an initial meeting to establish relationships and build rapport with the local leaders and sheiks,” said Bierman. “From there, we had subsequent meetings that were more focused on the details of how we were going to work with them to establish security. The local leaders were upset over the fact that their children couldn’t go to school because of the violence in the city.“They agreed to the fact that there will be a constant Marine patrolling presence in their town, and we reached an agreement on a weapons buy-back program, where it was agreed that each Afghani family could maintain one rifle per household, but must turn in all rockets and machine guns.“We also talked about them identifying civil affair projects for us — hospitals, schools, and other projects — that we could help them build or restore, once they put together a prioritized list for us.“At one point, the imam was concerned that the curfew times we requested would interfere with morning prayers, so we accommodated him by changing the curfew hours and emphasized to them that we wanted to conduct our operations in a way that respects the locals.”Bierman also pointed out that the realism of the urban warfare training was perhaps its strongest suit.“We have to figure out for ourselves who the good guys and bad guys are,” remarked Bierman. “In the initial meetings, we’re being cordial and polite, but we’re watching everyone very closely. We are being professional, but we are doing this with our eyes wide open.“This training is very important,” concluded Bierman. “The simple goal of this training is that the Marines in 1/3 will not encounter any situation in Afghanistan that they haven’t had a chance to work through and train for.”Part of the necessity for going through the evolution with “eyes wide open,” according to Berg, is the unique situation facing Marines in Afghanistan and Iraq.“The most important thing for the Marines to take away from this training is that they understand the local cultures and that they understand we’re there to provide security and certain needs that the locals have, and yet knowing at the same time that amongst the locals hide the insurgents, and the bad guys that are trying to kill us,” commented Berg. “The Marines have got to be able to flip that switch from the friendliest friend to the man that’s gonna put a bullet right between your eyes and kill you dead on the spot.”“Like the saying goes, ‘No better friend; no worse enemy.’ I think the Marines — out of all the services — are the best adapted for that, where we can show our kind-heartedness to the locals. That’s the way Marines are. We have two sides. We have a soft side, and we’ve got an extremely hard, serious side that you don’t want to mess with.”1st Sgt. Jerry Fowler, Alpha Company first sergeant, 1/3, from Moore, Okla., said the Marines of 1/3 are up to the challenge.Marines from 1/3 have received some of the best training the Marine Corps has to offer these past couple of months explained Fowler. “Now it’s time to put that training to use (in Afghanistan).”Many of Fowler’s Marines in Alpha Company seemed to echo their first sergeant’s sentiments.“I can’t wait to get to Afghanistan,” said Pfc. Danilo Osorio, a 1/3 rifleman from Houston. “The training we got at Bridgeport and here at Twentynine Palms, with the Afghani city and everything, is the best training I’ve ever had or even heard of, for that matter. I feel ready. We all do.”“Nobody is going through the motions out here,” added Pfc. Daniel Breen, a 1/3 rifleman from Boston. “We are doing training that we know we are going to use. Everything has been so realistic. It has been hard training, but no matter what we end up doing later in life, we can all look back years from now on the times we spent with 1/3 and say to ourselves, ‘What I’m doing now ain’t so hard. I’ve done tougher things. I once served with 1/3.’ That means something to us.”Cpl. Matthew Schenkenfelder, a 1/3 combat engineer from Harrogate, Tenn., said he could attest to the strenuous training regime.“I did two tours in Iraq, and outside of combat, I don’t think they could have made it much tougher as far as training goes,” said Schenkenfelder. “During this whole deployment, we were always doing something. We were always on the move. There was no time for anything but training. We might get a quick break to eat chow or go to the head (restroom), but that was about it. We’re ready as a battalion for Afghanistan, now. We still need to sustain back in Hawaii, but we’re ready. I couldn’t say the same thing that first day in Bridgeport.”Lance Cpl. Vann Magruder, a 1/3 combat engineer from Huntsville, Mo., said this pre-deployment training exercise has brought the Marines of 1/3 closer together.“When we first got to Bridgeport, it seemed like the assaultmen stayed off to themselves; the machine gunners stayed off to themselves; the engineers stayed off to themselves and so on and so on. Now it feels like were more like a family — like a big team. The unit cohesion has really come together and the camaraderie among us all is outstanding.”For his part, Craig said witnessing the battalion progress by “leaps and bounds” during this deployment reminded him of his days on the drill field.“Oh my goodness!” exclaimed Craig, when asked how far the battalion had come over the past six weeks. “Watching the guys at Bridgeport during mountain warfare training that first day, I felt like I was forming up a platoon at boot camp. We went all the way back to the basics and broke ‘em down so we could build ‘em back up again. Now, finishing up our training during the Battalion FEX at Twentynine Palms is like the third phase of boot camp. We’re gonna polish and sustain in Hawaii to get them ready for the final graduation. That graduation will be when we touch ground in Afghanistan and get the ball rolling. We’ve come along way.”