Most of the nearly 4,000 soldiers in a battle-weary Stryker brigade that spent a year in Afghanistan will have returned home to Joint Base Lewis-McChord by the end of this week, according to officials at the local base.

The arrival of the brigade commander and his command team late Tuesday signifies that the deployment is all but over. The ceremonial end won’t come until the unit’s colors are uncased in the next few weeks.

Members of the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division started returning home in the third week of June, with a big surge over the July 4 holiday weekend.

More than 270 soldiers, including Col. Harry D. Tunnell and Command Sgt. Maj. Robert A. Prosser, arrived Tuesday night.

The brigade was headquartered in Kandahar and primarily served in southern Afghanistan.

A reported 37 soldiers died during the deployment.