Soldiers get special welcome in Wiltshire (From This Is Wiltshire)

Soldiers get special welcome in Wiltshire

7:42am Tuesday 3rd November 2009

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A soldier's tearful wife declared he was "just as handsome" as when he left, as more than 100 men enjoyed emotional reunions with their families after six months in Afghanistan.

Some 128 servicemen from 4th Battalion The Rifles returned to barracks in Bulford, Wiltshire last night after a tough tour which saw the deaths of two comrades.

B company went out as part of the Election Support Force and played a key role in the recent Operation Panther's Claw.

RSM Lee Roberts, 38, embraced his wife Jo, 37, and two children Sam, 14 and Jack, 11. Eyes damp with joy Jo said: "It's lovely. Very, very nice.

He's still just as handsome!"

RSM Roberts, from Bulford, said: "It's good to see them again. I'm just going to relax and watch a bit of telly."

One of his boys shouted out: "And X Box!" to laughter from the family.

Sgt Lee Miller, 35, hoisted son Alfie, six, onto his shoulders as he met wife Sarah from the coach. Sarah, also from Bulford, said: "It's brilliant. It's been a long time."

Colour Sgt Chris Stevens, from north London, was overjoyed to see wife Lesley and daughter Felicity, four.

Mrs Stevens said: "I'm elated. It won't sink in for a few months."

Capt Guy Bomford, 28, from Wallingford, Oxfordshire, was met by partner Joey Mahood, a 28-year-old lawyer, his mother Philippa, 60, and sister Lucinda, 33, and Sophie, 34.

Ms Mahood and the sister performed a routine with union jack umbrellas to welcome Capt Bomford home.

Capt Bomford said: "It's cold! But I'm very, very excited to see everyone again. It was quite a tough tour but very rewarding."

Ms Mahood joked: "He's a bit skinnier - but he looks very well."

Waiting nervously for the arrival, Ms Mahood confessed she was gripped by news reports from Afghanistan.

She said: "I don't know what others do, but I read and watch everything - including Ross Kemp in Afghanistan."

Also in the crowd were George Green, seven months, and sister Keylah Green, 11, who were waiting for their father Darryll Green, 29.

He had spend just a couple of months with George, his son by partner Becky Milam, 29, before he had to leave.

Ms Milam, from Essex, said: "He didn't like it but obviously that's his job, and he knew he had to do it."

The homecoming was all the sweeter as their job was extended by a month just 10 days before they were due to fly home.

Led by Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Jones, the company operated in the Nad-e-Ali District in the "extreme south" of the UK area of operations in Helmand.

International security forces moved into the region for the first time last year so the threat of attack remained high.

The Riflemen lived in "very austere conditions" and had to work hard to keep insurgents at bay, the MoD said.

Thanks to their dedication, local families were able to begin returning to their homes after moving to the desert for security.

Lt Col Jones said: "The extension was necessary to ensure that our successors were ready and reflects the difficult summer that we have all had. The Riflemen and their families dealt with the disappointment with typical resilience and just got on with it."

The tour was however touched by tragedy.

Rifleman Daniel Hume, 22, from Slough, was killed in an explosion on July 9 2009 on foot patrol in the Nad-e-Ali District.

Lance Corporal Taran Cheeseman, 21, from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, died of cancer early in the tour.

Four other men lost limbs during the tour.

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