Big welcome from a little bloke

Sergeant Mike Skates is introduced to his 3-week-old son Max by partner Sara Proctor after landing at Ohakea Air Force Base. Photo / Mark Mitchell

It was a special welcome for Sergeant Mike Skates when he arrived home yesterday after a six-month tour of duty with NZ Defence Force troops in Afghanistan.

He was introduced to 3-week-old son Max by partner Sara Proctor after landing at Ohakea Air Force Base yesterday with 50 other troops. Max is the couple's first child.

Sergeant Skates was a member of the 13th rotation of the NZ Provincial Reconstruction Team, greeted in an official ceremony by the Joint Forces Commander, Major General Rhys Jones.

New Zealand has 685 troops in 14 operations, UN missions and defence exercises around the world.

They include 131 people in the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Bamyan province, two non-commissioned officers helping to train Afghan national army troops, five officers with the International Security Assistance Force, one officer at the United Nations Assistance Mission and two medical specialists with the Multinational Medical Unit in Kandahar.