January - ACO - NATO

March Medal, a bronze-colored, circular medal withred and white-striped ribbon. The march brings theparticipants through rough terrain in the countryside.The hardest part for most is the hill near the beginningof the course.Specialist Drew Peterson, Multinational Battle GroupEast (MNBG E), was the first U.S. Soldier to finish themarch.“I was very proud to lead the U.S. Army in the march,”said Peterson. This was Peterson's second time doingthe march. He finished in 4 hours and 1 minute. “Thisexperience taught me that no matter how big theobstacle, being well prepared physically and mentally,allows you to accomplish great things,” he added.“It was great to be out there with all our coalitionpartners participating in a physically challengingactivity and getting to know everyone at the sametime,” said Major Bettye Dufour, U.S. Army,“I think the best part about doing the Dancon wasgetting out into the villages and countryside. We wereable to see all the natural beauty in Kosovo and werealso able to have one-on-one interaction with thechildren of this region. This is a beautiful place and thepeople are so welcoming,” said Dufour.This was the last Dancon March scheduled to be heldin Kosovo. The Danish contingent is expected towithdraw the majority of its troops from the area andthere will not be enough troops to be able to set up andrun it anymore, said Nyrup.KFOR Chronicle, January 20119