It will be the second 12-month deployment to Iraq for the battalion in less than a year. The battalion will begin leaving Hawai'i in the next few weeks.

"What an example of love of country and a commitment to the ideals and values that make our country great," said Brig. Gen. Frank Wiercinski, assistant division commander of the 25th Infantry Division. "And what a sacrifice made by these soldiers and their families to demonstrate the American spirit and say there are some things more important than self."

About half of the nearly 500 soldiers in the battalion were with it when it returned last January.

They missed Christmas last year and they'll miss it this year, too.

"It's sad because you think about Christmas and the family will sit down and his chair will be empty for a second time," said Tina Marshall, whose husband is the captain for the battalion's Bravo Company.