"MSR Tampa was nothing more than a goat trail when we got there," said Sgt. 1st Class Jay Howard, of West Jordan. "The dust got so thick that there were several head-on collisions."

Howard was among 80 soldiers from the guard's 115th Engineer Group who landed at the Air Guard Base near Salt Lake City International Airport about 11 a.m.

Among their souvenirs is a metal spike painted gold, used in a ceremony marking the paving of MSR Tampa after two Iraqi contractors, working from the north and south, met.

The ceremony at the Tallil Air Base in southern Iraq was reminiscent of the 1869 celebration of the driving of a golden spike that linked the transcontinental railroads at Promontory Summit in northern Utah.

Maj. Kirk Silver, of Bountiful, said that before MSR Tampa was paved, hundreds of soldiers were injured or killed in collisions and rollovers. Convoys also were vulnerable to attack when vehicles had to stop because of an accident up ahead.

"The paving alone made it all worthwhile," he said.

Capt. Derick Quinlan, of Clinton, pointed to the building of a police station in An Nasiriyah as his most memorable accomplishment.

"The Iraqis understand that it's do or die for them," he said. "Even though they are high-priority targets for insurgents, they are taking control."

Quinlan spoke of the Iraqi police standing up to a sheik whose followers threatened to attack the station where two tribesmen were being held.

"A year ago they would have released the suspects," he said. "This time they also rounded up the men making the threats."

Sgt. 1st Class Gary Major, of American Fork, talked about building schools, and with the help of loved ones back home, of giving out paper, pencils, chalk and other supplies to students and teachers who had nothing in the classrooms.

"The Iraqis are getting a taste of what it means to be free," he said. "Just about everyone we talked to lost someone during Saddam's regime. Now they have hope."

Sgt. Aaron Matthews, of Yuba City, Calif., provided security for the Utah soldiers. He had transferred to the Utah Guard after his California unit was activated to guard military installations in Tooele County in 2003. His transfer was approved just before his new unit was activated last January.

"We rebuilt several bridges north of Baghdad that the insurgents had blown up," he said. "There are several hot spots up north, but we got the mission completed."

Lt. Col. Don Summit, of Delta, said at this point, he could only think about being home with his wife, Janet, and 10 children.

"I was worried about how they would do while I was away," he said. "But after talking to my wife, I knew early on that they'd be OK."