POCATELLO - Capt. Eric Sharp and Sgt. Kevin Thompson, both of the Army National Guard, each said Thursday that the United State's role in Afghanistan remains an important one for a war-torn country that is making progress.

Sharp and Thompson made their individual remarks at The AV Center at the Pocatello Regional Airport just moments after stepping off a military jet, returning them to Southeast Idaho after roughly nine months in Afghanistan. Both men were involved in the training of personnel at Afghani police departments.

"We made a lot of progress there, but there is still a lot of work to be done," Sharp said. "It's not going to be over soon, but it's headed in the right direction."

Thompson, a Pocatello native, said the effort in Afghanistan, as well as Iraq, is a different type of military operation than that of World War II, or even Vietnam.

"You have an insurgency of people fighting to overthrow the government, but we also have to rebuild everything that has been damaged," he said. "You have had at least 50 years of people doing nothing but fighting among themselves (in Afghanistan)."

Sharp, who lives in Preston, said this was his first tour in Afghanistan. He will relax for a few weeks and then go back to work for Presto Products in Lewiston, Utah, he said.

Thompson, who said he has 60 days off before going back to work, is simply looking to enjoy some winter weather.

"I just want to get cold and snowy," he said. "I love to ski. I will try to get in as much skiing as can."

After his break, Thompson is headed back to Sierra Vista, Ariz., and Fort Huachua, where he works as a civilian contractor teaching at an intelligence school. He owns a home in the Gate City, but said he may eventually have to relocate because of his job.

With his exit from Afghanistan, Thompson completed his third Middle Eastern tour in the past seven years.

"Right after 9/11, I went to Kuwait for nine months to train soldiers there," Thompson said of his deployment just prior to the U.S. entering Iraq.

He was later deployed in Iraq, as well.

The two soldiers were greeted by family members, Boy Scouts and numerous members of several local veteran's groups.

Thompson put the welcome into perspective.

"If the Vietnam veterans didn't get the reception they got, we wouldn't be getting this kind of reception today," he said.