“Look, it’s dad,” Glori Fernandez whispered, pointing a few feet away to her husband, 1st Lt. Joffrey Fernandez.

She glanced at her 14-month-old daughter, Ariana, and watched her eyes light up as she spotted him.

Her sisters did too.

Photo Gallery

“Hi, daddy!” yelled 3-year-old Kailyn, while waving wildly.

As Joffrey Fernandez and hundreds of his comrades stood at attention in Fort Carson’s Special Events Center Tuesday evening, he averted his gaze to his family.

His stoic face cracked a smile.

For the Fernandez family, five minutes of sweet agony ensued.

It was relieved by the call of “dismissed!”

Lips quivered, chests heaved and tears streamed Tuesday night as 300 soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team returned to Fort Carson from their deployment to Eastern Afghanistan.

See photos from the homecoming here.

Tuesday’s homecoming ceremony was the last in a slew that have taken place this fall, as the brigade’s 3,000 soldiers arrvied home.

Nine brigade soldiers lost their lives during the nine-month deployment.

More than half earned their first combat badge for performing their duties under fire, and 71 earned the Purple Heart.

During their time overseas, 4th Brigade soldiers assisted in the formation of a new Afghan National Army Brigade, which assumed responsibility for Nangarhar Province.

They also assisted in humanitarian efforts, overseeing the completion of 22 schools, 25 road projects, four canal and water sanitation projects and 13 medical clinics.

Additionally, they assisted in the distribution of 124,000 pounds of food and aid products to people displaced by fighting in Nuristan and Laghman provinces.

As waves of soldiers and civilians collided at Tuesday’s homecoming, Glori Fernandez wasted no time in reuniting with her husband.

She dove into his arms and kissed him with such force that he stumbled backward.

Thanks to the deployment — the family’s first — Joffrey Fernandez missed her gallbladder surgery, their daughter’s first day of kindergarten and her grandma’s death.

Many nights while her husband was away, she put her daughters to bed, then melted into tears.

Her daughters cried too, she said.

“They didn’t understand where he was,” she said. “Nights were tough because he always read bedtime stories.”

As the Fernandez family readied to leave the Special Events Center Tuesday night, Joffrey Fernandez said he was eager to get back into that routine.

“I want to continue where I left off,” he said.

Reina Fernandez, 6, holds a sign for her dad, 1st Lt. Joffery Fernandez, while her mother, Glori Fernandez, and little sister, Ariana, 14 months, cheer Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, during a homecoming ceremony for approximately 300 Soldiers of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, at the Special Events Center at Fort Carson. The homecoming was the last major flight of the 4th Brigade Combat Team to return from Afghanistan. Photo by CHRISTIAN MURDOCK/The Gazette

Soldiers march into the Special Events Center Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, during a homecoming ceremony for approximately 300 Soldiers of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, at Fort Carson. The homecoming was the last major flight of the 4th Br Photo by CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, The Gazette