When Canteen did reunite with his family in a hangar at Wheeler, he was assaulted with multiple lei, hugs, kisses and a balloon — pretty much simultaneously.

It's a scene that will be repeated many times over as Schofield soldiers return home in the weeks and months to come.

Nearly 1,000 of the 5,200 Hawai'i soldiers in Iraq have returned, and soldiers with units like the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry "Wolfhounds" were walking around a forward base in Iraq with big grins on their faces in anticipation of the exodus home.

The 5,800 troops in Afghanistan, meanwhile, will be leaving the country over the next couple of months.

Sgt. Pete Hanson, with daughter Hailey and wife Nikki, was one of the soldiers from the Army's 725th Main Support Battalion to come home. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Sgt. Rafael Conner, his 2-year-old daughter in his arms, had a hard time describing just how happy he was to be back yesterday with his family, including two other children 18 and 12. But his smile said it all.

"Being away for one year is life-changing," he said. The 32-year-old New Yorker added that he has mixed feelings about being gone for that long, "but it's gratifying to know my family is safe, and I did so much for my country."

"They call it 'the other war,' but it was still difficult, still frustrating," he said in a reference to Afghanistan's lower profile than Iraq in the media.

Thirteen Schofield Barracks soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since the 3rd Brigade Combat team deployed last February and March. An identical number have been killed in Iraq.

Conner attended three memorial services at Bagram Air Base, where he was based.

"Depressing," is how he described them. "Whether you knew them or not, you are part of one team," he said.

Tracy Conner said her husband re-enlisted in Afghanistan to be part of the planned Stryker Brigade at Schofield Barracks. It wasn't a decision she was particularly happy about.

"This is something he wanted to do for his country," she said.

The 25th Division's commander, Maj. Gen. Eric T. Olson, is the No. 2 U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and the Hawai'i soldiers helped usher in successful elections in Afghanistan in October that saw high voter turnout, low levels of violence and participation by women.

Lt. Gen. John Brown, commander of U.S. Army Pacific at Fort Shafter, recently said, "The first election (in Afghanistan) would not have happened if not for the work of the 25th."

The 725th, providing supplies and services, was spread among Bagram Air Base, Kabul, Kandahar and Khowst. A medical assessment team was in Uzbekistan.

A few soldiers driving trucks were injured from shrapnel from roadside bombs, but there were no major injuries, said Lt. Col. Derek Smith, the battalion's commander.

A band played, and several hundred family members were on hand at Wheeler to greet the returning soldiers.

Nikki Hanson, an Army sergeant and recovery room nurse at Tripler Army Medical Center, said the deployment has been extremely hard.

Sgt. Pete Hanson, 28, who worked with radio repair and operations, had been gone since Feb. 12. Nikki felt Afghanistan was a safer place for her husband than Iraq.

"But you never know. There's no safe spots over there," she said. "He went on a couple of different missions. We didn't hear from him around Christmastime. That was the worst part."

After a year in Afghanistan, he's looking forward to sleeping in, going to the beach, and eating fast food. "He just wants a Big Mac," she said.