THE last mission of Corporal Brendon Heape's tour to Afghanistan sounded simple - be home in time for his seven-month-old daughter Mikaela's first Christmas.
"I wasn't meant to, but luckily enough I got the chance," he said at Sydney Airport on Thursday after flying in with fellow troops.
Leaving for a tour just weeks after she was born, with only a quick visit in September, the proud father said he was amazed at how big she'd grown.
"We're so excited to be able to share Mikaela's first Christmas as a full family," happy wife Catherine said.
Cpl Heape was just one of 259 defence personnel who returned from Afghanistan on Thursday following the wrap-up of Australia's combat operations.
At the RAAF Amberley base, west of Brisbane, 55 Royal Australian Air Force personnel arrived home after seven months in Afghanistan.
Among them was Airman Scott Penrose, who cried with joy as he hoisted daughter Ella into his arms. He made it home the day before Ella's seventh birthday.
Ella was in good company in welcoming home a much-missed parent.
"I waited 114 days to hug my daddy," were the words on the back of one nine-month-old baby boy's shirt.
Just over a hundred touched down at Sydney Airport after taking the last flight home before Christmas.
Although this contingent was the last to return from Oruzgan, there are still about 400 Australian troops left in Afghanistan to mentor the Afghan National Army.
At an earlier stop in Darwin, Corporal Shane Imrie said the hard work of Australian forces had started to pay off.
"At our level it's hard to see the bigger picture, but we certainly did a lot of work," he said.
"Going back to the early years you can definitely see a big difference."
"There's a lot more women going to school, and kids, and that's obviously a great thing."
For Corporal Katie Davis, 22, it was easy to put the emotions of being home into words.
"Best thing ever," she said, embracing her younger sister Julie and best friend Natalie Harrison.
She said she went into her nearly nine-month tour with an open mind but was happy to be home as an early gift to her sister.
"Cheap Christmas," quipped Julie.
It was a similarly emotional reunion for Major Jon Lane and his wife Sally Beaumont, separated for 10 months while he worked as a psychiatrist at a hospital in Kandahar.
As he wiped tears from his eyes, Major Lane said he'd missed the Australian landscape the most.
"The green, water and somewhere that doesn't just have dirt and dust and rocks," he said.
But there's still a bit of a way to go until they're back in their hometown of Hobart.
So what's the first thing on the list when he finally gets there?
"Ah, have a beer. It's mental health."
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