The last large group of Edmonton-based 3rd Canadian Division soldiers deployed to Latvia as part of Operation Reassurance returned home Friday.

“It feels great,” said Lt.-Col. Wade Rutland, who was the commanding officer of the NATO “enhanced Forward Presence battle group” stationed in Latvia for the last seven months. “It was great to be away on a mission, the first mission of this type for Canada, but coming home is always great.”

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Their return marked the end of the first Canadian rotation in Latvia as part of Operation Reassurance, a demonstration of solidarity among NATO members and a show of strength against threats of Russian aggression in the region.

Canada led soldiers from five other nations ( Albania, Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Spain) in the 1,200- to 1,400-person battle group, which trained with Latvian soldiers to “make sure peace and stability stayed there,” said Rutland.

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“Basically, we wanted to show our capability, that we could provide a credible deterrent,” Rutland said, adding, “we provided a lot of combat power to the Latvian forces.”

The soldiers landed at Edmonton International Airport on Friday evening aboard a military flight.

The returning soldiers will be replaced by a contingent mainly from the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, based at Gagetown, N.B.

They should fit right in as Rutland said Latvia “was very much like New Brunswick.”

Not only did the landscape seem familiar, Rutland said Canadian and Latvian troops bonded over their shared love of hockey.

Master Cpl. Clayton Campbell, who was stationed in Latvia for “224 days” as transport sergeant for the combat support company, in charge of ensuring the vehicle fleet was “ready to go at all times,” said integrating troops from so many different nations had its challenges, but provided a great opportunity to share knowledge and best practices.

“Everybody comes and brings a little something different to the table — different vehicles, different ways of doing things,” said Campbell, adding, “it was a good challenge, sometimes a frustrating challenge, but at the end of the day, you got it done.”

Rutland and Campbell both said they were looking forward to getting a good night’s sleep.