THE last elements of the Black Watch returned to Scotland yesterday after a seven-month tour in Afghanistan.
The soldiers from B Company of the 3rd Battalion of The Royal Regiment of Scotland were greeted at Edinburgh Airport by loved ones and well-wishers.
They flew in from Cyprus after leaving Afghanistan on Friday.
The Officer Commanding of B Compa
ny, Major Al Steele, got off the plane to find his parents and sister waiting for him.
Major Steele, who is 34 and from Edinburgh, said: "It was a good tour, but a hard tour. My soldiers did extremely well and we are all happy to be home."
His father David said: "It's just great to know that he's back and he's all right. We'll catch up with him in a few days when he comes home on leave."
Speaking about the current temperature in Scotland, another B Company soldier, Corporal Duncan Bruce, said: "You have no idea how hot it still is out there. This is really great weather."
The 3 Scots Battlegroup lost five Scottish soldiers, as well as a member of the Royal Artillery and three Afghan soldiers who were attached to them.
The Commanding Officer of the Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Cartwright, who was at the airport to meet the returning company, said: "I am very proud of all of the soldiers.
"It was a tough tour and they did themselves proud. We took part in a lot of operations against insurgents, most notably Operation Panther's Claw in the summer, and all were air assault operations using coalition helicopters. It is good to see that the last of the battalion is home safely."
Speaking about plans for the soldiers this weekend, Lt-Col Cartwright said: "We will go back to the Fort and we will have a small Remembrance Day service just by ourselves, and we'll remember those we lost specifically and for the first time back on Scottish soil."
The soldiers boarded buses at the airport to Fort George, where some of their families are based.
Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy, who was also at Edinburgh Airport to welcome the final Black Watch troops home, said: "This has been a highly emotional occasion. The families and friends here are just so incredibly proud and relieved to see their loved ones home safely.
"It was an absolute privilege to welcome these amazing troops home and thank them personally.
"This is Britain at its best and Scotland at its bravest. On a day like today everyone is also very aware that for some families their loved ones did not return. They gave the ultimate sacrifice and they will never be forgotten."
On Thursday the funeral of Corporal Thomas Mason, known as Tam, from Fife, was held after he died when he was caught by an improvised explosive device in Kandahar province on 15 September.
The 27-year-old, from the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, died in Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham on 25 October.
More than 300 mourners packed into Trinity Parish Church in Cowdenbeath for his funeral.
