PORTAGE | U.S. Army Spc. Dustin Swisher tracks down the bad guys in Iraq, and Marine Lance Cpl. Carlos Jimenez goes in and gets them.

The two Portage High School graduates returned to their roots Monday afternoon to share their stories of life in the military and in Iraq with Jones Elementary School students.

"Not too long ago we were going through this," Swisher said about the students sitting cross-legged on the gym floor. "I don't know how much they understand what we do."

"I want to explain to these kids what we do over there," said Jimenez, who also visited students at Saylor Elementary School in South Haven last week.

Swisher, who turns 21 on Wednesday, is a January 2004 Portage High School graduate. He is home on a two-week leave before returning to Iraq. His mother is a cashier in the school's cafeteria.

Swisher, an intelligence analyst with the Army stationed in Baghdad, said his job is like "detective work."

"I study the bad guys, how they think, how they work," he said, adding that he gathers intelligence before men like Jimenez go out and find them.

"We did a lot of patrolling," Jimenez, 20, a weapons specialist stationed in northern Iraq near the Syrian border, told the youngsters. "We were going into houses, getting the bad guys out. They like to hide amongst the civilians."

Jimenez told the youngsters, "Don't think that because Iraq is a bad country, everyone is bad." He said there are many good people in the country who want to make it better.

Swisher told the youngsters his unit also spends a lot of time building schools and hospitals.

Swisher was deployed to Iraq in January as part of the initial surge in military forces.

"We're doing really good over there. I'm happy with the progress. We've made strides," he said.

Swisher's homecoming is an especially proud moment for his mother, Maria Jones, who recently received a letter from Army Lt. Col. Wilson Shoffner extolling Swisher's exceptional performance in Iraq.

"His contributions to the unit's mission are keeping the lives of Iraqis safe and making a difference in the stabilization and development of the Iraqi nation," the letter reads. "I am amazed by Dustin's intelligence and his ability to master the intricacies of the insurgent networks we deal with. He has made a huge difference for this battalion. You should be very proud of your son."