Soldiers return from Afghanistan mission - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

It was an early wake up call for the families of an Indiana National Guard Unit returning back home from Afghanistan, but one well worth it.

Jesse Hoffman can't get enough of four-month-old Gabriel. The Indiana National Guardsman has not held his son since he came into the world.

"I did get to see him born, got to spend a few weeks with him and then headed back," said Hoffman.

First Lt. Hoffman is one of 60 members of the 419th Agribusiness Development team which deployed to Afghanistan back in July. After eight months of working with farmers with everything from livestock to grain storage, the team arrived back home around 2 a.m. Sunday.

"It's awesome and it's even more amazing to see him and see how much he's grown and again to be around family, so it's great," said Hoffman.

Also relieved is his wife, Melody, who had to adjust to raising an infant alone.

"It was a little rough, but we made it through and we have my husband back and our help and it's awesome," she said.

Like Hoffman, Specialist Blake Heckler has a lot of time to make up with his newborn daughter, Riley.

"I had to leave her when she was, like, four weeks old," he said. "It was probably one of the hardest things I've had to do, so coming back's definitely needed. Definitely needed it. She's gotten so big."

Tensions have been high in Afghanistan since early March, when a U.S. soldier allegedly killed 16 Afghan civilians in the middle of the night.

Heckler says he hopes people realize there is still a lot of good going on, despite the tragedy.

"Seems like everyone wants to comment on the negative stuff. They don't want to ever look at the positive things we're doing over there," he said.

It's through the interactions with the Afghan people that Sergeant First Class Trixie Coffman, a mother of three, found a deeper gratitude for her own family.

"I think what really made me appreciate my kids a lot more is seeing the Afghan kids, 'cause I visited an orphanage and it just made me realize what we have here in America," said Coffman.

Now, work begins to refocus priorities away from the war zone and back on home.