When Dr. Howard Coombs came back from his first overseas tour in Europe with the Canadian Forces he wouldn’t step on the grass for months for fear of landmines.
"We didn’t have family picnics for a while," he said.
Coming back from Afghanistan – his fourth overseas tour – on Friday he said the transition be smoother.
"It gets easier every time," he said. "You know what you enjoy about coming home and you learn what to avoid."
Coombs was one of 117 Canadian soldiers who landed at Ottawa’s airport fresh from an 11-month tour that marked the end of Canada’s decade long combat effort in the region. The soldiers were welcomed by cheering friends and family who couldn’t wait to see them.
But after the initial smiles, hugs and excitement the road can be hard for many returning soldiers.
The soldiers have lived through a tension-filled war that has left 157 of their comrades dead and thousands of others wounded.
Returning home from war marks the start of a personal battle for some soldiers.
Six percent of soldiers exhibit signs of deployment-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression or both in the year following deployment.
The military is already providing disability support related to the disorder for 1,812 soldiers who served in Afghanistan.
Talking to family and uniformed friends is the key to a coming home, according to Lieutenant-General Peter Devlin.
"It allows you to experience feelings, demonstrate pride and share success," he said. "And if there are demons running around inside, you address those," he said.
A more common challenge faced by returning soldiers is adjusting to family life.
When they return home from battle they leave one tight-knit family and return to another, which has been functioning without them.
"You want to move back into the household at a slow rate of knots," said Brigadier-General Dean Milner, Canada’s commander in Afghanistan who returned with Coombs. "Don’t come back and jump in with two feet."
"Be very careful about what you say and do," advised Coombs.
His wife Donna said coming home means having to stop her husband from buying everything in the grocery store and driving him around while he gets used to Canadian roads again.
Lieutenant-Colonel Roger Cotton said establishing regular relationships with family is one of the hardest parts of coming home.
His advice to other soldiers is to remember the sacrifice of your family.
"For you it is Afghanistan," he said. "For them, it is Afghanistan, the house, the kids."
Friday’s homecoming included some of the last combat soldiers in Afghanistan. Several more flights will arrive back in Canada in the coming weeks.
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