CFB VALCARTIER, Que. - Friends and family greeted 85 Quebec-based soldiers who returned from Afghanistan on Sunday.
Troops from the famed Royal 22nd Regiment, also known as the Van Doos, arrived at CFB Valcartier following an eight-month tour.
A convoy of police and armoured military vehicles escorted buses carrying the troops from Quebec City's Jean Lesage Airport to the base.
Returning soldier Cpl. Jean-Rene D'Amours told Radio Canada when risks ran high in Kandahar he thought of his family back home.
He says thinking about seeing them again helped him do his job.
International Co-operation Minister Josee Verner was also on hand to welcome the troops.
A company of Van Doos has been working at the provincial reconstruction team base since November.
Another contingent of 80 soldiers is expected to return Tuesday.
Meanwhile, more than 2,000 soldiers from the Quebec City-area base are currently making their way to Kandahar.
The new rotation of troops assumes official command of the mission next month.
