'Tis season of joy as our troops come home from Afghanistan

'Tis season of joy as our troops come home from Afghanistan
Sydney Morning Herald
David Wroe
December 17, 2013

Homeward bound: Leading Aircraftman Noel Klaehn has a welcome message for his family in Australia. Photo: ADF

Last Thursday, Trever and Raelene Klaehn got the call they had been waiting for. Their son Noel, one of Australia's venerable air-ground defence guards serving in Afghanistan, would be home by Christmas.

''My wife broke down and started crying and all that,'' Mr Klaehn said on Monday. ''We'll have a big do for him. He's very humble. He doesn't want a fuss about anything. But we'll make a fuss, don't worry.''

The news was official as Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Defence Minister David Johnston announced that after a decade of war in Afghanistan - including eight years based at Tarin Kowt - the last Australian boots were off the ground.

The remaining troops flew out of Tarin Kowt on Sunday. About 400 Australians will remain in Kandahar and Kabul in training and advisory roles, but the Australian troops have farewelled Oruzgan province, where most of the fighting was done and most of the casualties suffered.

''We know they've paid a high price - 40 dead, 261 seriously wounded - but that sacrifice has not been in vain,'' Mr Abbott said on Monday. ''Oruzgan today is a very significantly different and better place than it was a decade ago.''
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