Lt. Ryan Carstens wasn't home for Easter and an important birthday. His daughter Breanna started swim lessons as her baby sister grew three months older.

But that didn't matter Sunday.

"Daddy!" Breanna, 3, said as she was scooped up by Carstens. "I can't wait to see you."

He had just stepped off one of four E-2C Hawkeye planes that brought eight pilots and 12 naval flight officers home from an eight-month cruise aboard the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), deployed off the coast of Iran.

Members of the squadron hadn't seen their families since a short visit home in May.

Carstens' wife, Heather, was holding their other daughter, Delaney, now 10 months old.

"What's your name? Laney, how old are you now?" the Navy pilot asked.

The family leaned in for a big hug, the kind that was spreading throughout the Point Mugu Naval Air Station after the return of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 112.

The Golden Hawks had landed.

The squadron provided the carrier battle group with an early warning and command control platform for widely dispersed naval, air and ground units.

"We had the kind of deployment we like — status quo," said Susan Wysocki, whose husband, Brian, is commanding officer of the squadron. He's been in the Navy for almost 20 years.

The Wysockis have two sons: Andrew, 13, and Matthew, 10. They joined the excitement when they heard their dad fly over.

"They are the eyes and ears of the Navy," Susan Wysocki said. "The E-2 doesn't get the credit that it deserves."

The Golden Hawks are the Navy's premier Carrier Airborne Early Warning squadron, according to the Navy's Web site. While deployed, the four-plane squadron flew maritime and coalition missions while supporting Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom off the coast of Iran.

Squadron 112 earned the Air Wing Nine "Top Hook Award" after completing a 98 percent landing rate in competition with other squadrons aboard the Stennis.

"We're like the quarterbacks of the sky," Brian Wysocki said after landing.

Before the midmorning arrival, family and friends waited in Hangar 355, known as "Hawkeye country." Members of other squadrons were there, wearing their flight suits. Most women wore summer dresses and eagerly waited for the planes to land. Cameras were positioned.

"I hear the noise," Heather Carstens said as she looked out of the hangar and into the airspace that would soon be filled with Squadron 112's formation fly-in, which included a little showing off.

"I have the chills," one woman said.

"Tracy, he's home!" said another.

"Woo-hoo!"

Wives and girlfriends soon broke out and ran across the tarmac to greet their loved ones.

This was Carstens' second tour of duty in his six years with the Navy. While he's missed Breanna's first and third birthdays, the daily e-mails and five-minute video conferencing have helped connect the family.

But now, he just wants to spend time doing normal stuff, like going to the playground and to the "big girl" pool to see Breanna swim.

He walked away from his plane, No. 602, with his three girls.

"I missed you guys so much," he said.