FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — With the upcoming one-year anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Chief of Staff of the Army is saying the war on terror is making progress, but there is still a lot of work to do.

Peter Schoomaker was in Fayetteville Thursday for the opening of a new exhibit at the

Airborne and Special Operations Museum

. He said the military is making great strides in the Middle East, despite the number of casualties.

"Our morale is great. Surprisingly, the soldiers are wonderfully resilient. They are proud and working very hard. They see the progress," he said. "Obviously, everyone would rather be home, but they are doing very, very well."

The new exhibit, Soldiers: The Global War on Terrorism, focuses on our Army airborne and special operations soldiers who have been serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Many visitors said the exhibit sheds new insight on the war.

"A lot of people put our soldiers down and don't appreciate what they are out there for," museum visitor Ella Smith said. "If they came down here and saw this, they would understand it."

Besides the war on terror, Schoomaker said a major item on his list is the possible restructuring of the Army.