GNJILANE, Kosovo -- Peace in the Kosovo region has been stable in the last several years thanks to the hard work and efforts of NATO and other security forces in the area. The scars of the war remain evident, however, people of the region continue to strive for a better life.Helping the victims of the Kosovo war is where a group of 10 civil affairs Marines make their livelihood. These Marines weave in and out of the minute and often complex problems of citizens living in a post war culture. The Marines belong to the 3rd Civil Affairs Group located at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and are midway through their 6-month tour.Life in Kosovo is much better now than it was 4 years ago when Slobodan Milosovic's Serbian military and police forces clashed with Kosovar Albanian forces resulting in the deaths of more than 1,500 Kosovar Albanians. The fighting also forced more than 400,000 people from their homes. The situation became worse the following year.GySgt. Frank Torres, NCOIC of the 3rd CAG detachment that consists of 8 enlisted and 2 officers, works for the Civil-Military Coordination Center. The center's mission is to facilitate civil affairs coordination between KFOR, governmental bodies, non-governmental organizations, and the local populace in Multinational Brigade East - the U.S. sector. A former active-duty mortarman working civil affairs for the last 17 years, Torres is assigned to Task Force Falcon and operates from Camp Monteith in the U.S. sector. A seasoned veteran in the field of civil affairs, the 41 year-old building inspector from Los Angeles intermingles with the local population of Gnjilane (Albanian spelling) or Gjilan (Serbian spelling) where he maintains a separate office.His office is a clearinghouse of concerns from the local citizenry. The town of nearly 100,000 is predominately ethnic Albanian (90%) with small portions of Serbians and Romas or Gypsies completing the population. Although anyone can walk into Torres's office with any problem at any time, people comprising the ethnic minorities visit him most often. When the CAG Marines receive a concern, they try to funnel it to the proper local agency that can answer the questions. The prominent problem in the area recently has been the lack of electricity. After receiving supplemental funding from the European Union for the last several years the electric companies are now forced to be self-sufficient and to collect monies owed them. People who have not paid their bills have had their electricity turned off. "Many citizens have not paid for electricity for nearly three years," said Torres. Dig a little deeper in this situation and one can understand the recent stream of complaints. The electric companies are an easy target for discrimination by Serbians because ethnic Albanians own the power companies. The Serbians claim that only their electricity is being turned off and not the houses belonging to ethnic Albanians with the same problem.This complaint was brought forward and Torres and his team went to work. "We went out to talk with the director of the electric company and she stated 'that's not the case at all,'" said Torres. She showed us a list of power cutoffs and there were ethnic Albanians on the list as well."The electricity dispute is not likely to go away anytime soon, Torres added. A recent storm damaged one of the two power plants in the local area and there are no monies to fix the broken one. Helping the local citizenry is something the CAG Marines do with pleasure. They are constantly on the lookout for the most needy, trying to assist in any way possible. They recently delivered a boxful of school supplies, food, and bags of clothing to houseful of needy children. The six children cannot attend school and are part of a 10-member household living in a single room dwelling. The father cannot get a job because of his age and ethnicity. The Marines and interpreters were met with racing eyes and vigorous smiles. "If you can make a kid smile, it makes your day right there," said Torres.Another mission of the CAG Marines is to help facilitate the return of internally displaced persons and refugees, said LtCol. Mike Drake, Officer in Charge of the 3rd CAG detachment. During the year 2002, nearly 300 persons have returned to their houses. Progress is being made however, Drake said, there is a high unemployment rate making it unattractive for others to return. It is estimated that 300,000 displaced refugees could return to Kosovo from neighboring countries. If this happens, Drake said, the infrastructure and economy would not be able to support their return.The detachment of 3rd CAG Marines will be replaced by a detachment from the 4th CAG near the end of the summer. No one knows for sure how long the CAG Marines will remain in Kosovo."Until there is no longer a need for coordination between assets or organizations, someone like us will be here," said Drake.