Kosta Grygoryev is embraced by his family, his children, Nikolai, 2, and four-month-old Aleksei, and his wife, Yvette. Dozens of Alberta-based soldiers arrived home from Afghanistan early Tuesday morning. (QMI Agency)

EDMONTON - Arriving to babies, expectant wives and their favourite meals, nearly 100 Alberta-based troops are home from Afghanistan.

"One challenge to the next, I guess," said Capt. Bryce Talsma, whose wife Laura is due to give birth next week.

"(I'm) finding out what it is to be a husband and soon-to-be a father. It's an overwhelming feeling."

Landing at the Edmonton International Airport around 5 a.m. Tuesday, Talsma was among about 90 soldiers coming home from a seven-month tour.

Talsma, 30, returned a week early so he wouldn't miss the birth of his first child.

Around 2,100 troops from Western Canada are set to return within the next month.

"Everyone's glad to get back," Talsma said.

Edmonton-based Lt.-Col. Chris Linford said he saw the best and worst of Afghanistan during a seven-month stint working at the Kandahar Airfield hospital. The hospital is just metres from an airstrip, so trauma teams can prioritize the patients within minutes of arrival.

"From the negative side, I don't think I'll quite get used to seeing young men and women blown up," Linford said. "We saw a lot of trauma in the last seven months. Unfortunately, that is the product of activity in the region."

But it was also rewarding to work with troops from other countries, putting politics aside to focus on helping patients, he added.

"On the positive side, it's been professionally one of the best experiences of my career," Linford said.

Linford and others had been deployed to Kandahar as part of Task Force 3-09.

Waiting for their loved ones to return home, a crowd of anxious relatives gathered at the Edmonton Garrison Tuesday, with some holding balloons and Canadian flags.

Brenna Andrews said she was preparing husband Cpl. Bill Andrews' favourite meal, manicotti, for dinner that night.

The couple has a 15-month-old daughter, Miranda.

michelle.thompson@sunmedia.ca