Balaklava Company welcomed home after Afghanistan tour

SOLDIERS have been reunited with their families after serving in Afghanistan.

Private Christopher Edgar meets his two-week-old baby Caleb for the first time. Picture: Ian Georgeson

Sergeant Sam Jamie Williams, from the Capital, hugged his son Alfie, four, when he returned from an operational tour supporting Nato’s mission in Kabul, along with 90 other troops from the Balaklava Company (5 Scots).

Private Joe Tolutinikaono, also from Edinburgh, was reunited with his wife and three children, while Private Christopher Edgar, from Johnstone, met his son Caleb for the first time.

His fiancee, Laura Black, was at Glencorse Barracks, in Penuick, waiting for his arrival on Wednesday night, with their two-week-old.

PTE Joe Tolutinikaono with kids Masi, 1, Seva, 2, John, 5, and wife Carol. Picture: Ian Georgeson

Private Edgar said: “It feels absolutely amazing to meet Caleb for the first time, I’ve seen him via computer and couldn’t wait to come home to meet him properly.

“Four months is a long time to be away from my family and I can’t wait to have leave and spend time with them.”

The soldiers were deployed to Afghanistan as part of 
2 Scots Battle Group to assist Kabul’s security forces and provide security for UK and Nato personnel.

The mission was split into two tours of four months and included personnel drawn from three battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland; 2 Scots, 5 Scots (Balaklava Company) and reserve soldiers from 6 Scots.