1st Lt. Michael Landes. Marine Corps Base Hawaii. December 2010.

U.S. Marines 1st Lt. Michael Landes, artillery liaison officer, Headquarters and Service Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, shares a moment with his 10-month-old daughter after returning to Marine Corps Base Hawaii from a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan, Dec. 7, 2010. After replacing 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, in Helmand province’s Nawa district last May, 3/3 supported Regimental Combat Teams 1 and 7, as part of counterinsurgency operations during Operation Enduring Freedom. The battalion’s operations varied from securing elections and ensuring school openings, to more traditional combat operations such as security patrols and clearing danger areas, said Maj. Jay Garcia, executive officer, 3/3, of Honolulu. The return of “America’s Battalion” brought 925 Marines back to Hawaii.