Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki stepped off the first plane landing in Najaf International Airport and waved to cheering crowds, July 20.

The celebration marked the opening of a new airport, which will facilitate travel, boost business opportunities and increase tourism to the third-most-popular destination for Islamic pilgrimages.

“The Najaf airport is a starting point for competition among provinces and local governments to make extraordinary progress toward reconstruction … We were determined to face the terrorism that was about to destroy Iraq. The strong will of the federal government has fought and defeated it in all of its forms,” Maliki said when he addressed the crowd.

The Provincial Government Center for al Anbar, located in the heart of downtown Ramadi, was a vicious and violent battleground for much of the last five years.

But as the city emerges from the violence that has plagued it for so long, thanks in part to Iraqi and coalition forces’ security efforts, the center now stands as a as a symbol of peace and stability. Governmental leaders operate there daily, overseeing a variety of departments critical in continuing the region’s growth.

Photos: A group of photos showing Iraqi children going about their daily lives

Soldiers of Co. B’s 1st Plt. began their day with an early morning patrol in Raminiyah, along the west bank of the Tigris River, visiting Sons of Iraq checkpoints and talking with local citizens and community leaders. In the rural parts of Co. B’s area, where there are few police, the SoI help keep the roads safe and prevent insurgents and weapons from coming into the area. It’s an around-the-clock task, and many of the checkpoints have tents or shelters nearby where SoI members rest between shifts.

The Soldiers of Co. B, attached to the 1st Bn., 76th Field Artillery Regt., 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, make sure the checkpoints are manned and the SoI have what they need as part of their patrols.

The new facility is expected to serve 200 patients a day and is the largest-type PHC being built in Iraq, 2,200 square meters. It offers basic health care, dental exam, x-ray room, laboratory for blood work, pharmacy, treatment rooms, emergency trauma services, inpatient and maternity care (pre-natal and birthing).

More than 108 internally displaced families returned to their homes in the town of al Khwalis, Iraq, July 20. The event was celebrated by a welcome ceremony and is a significant mark in the reconciliation process.

The families left the area when tensions mounted after the Iraqi Army cleared the area of al-Qaeda last year.

“Today was a ceremony that represents the reconciling of differences between Sunni and Shi’a families,” said Capt. Roger Miranda, executive officer, 1st Battalion, 19th Brigade, 5th Division, Military Transition Team. “These people have been living in the town of Hib Hib since they were displaced.”

While he isn’t outside the wire all the time, Light said, he knows his job is equally as important. He must be there not only for the soldiers who are deployed, but also for their families back at home.

“Never in our nation’s history have families had to give up so much,” he said. “While I’m not out there on the front line fighting, it’s my job to be there for [soldiers] when they come back. If I can help prepare these soldiers to go back to their families, I’m doing my part.”

Photo: a series of photos showing a humanitarian aid mission by the USNS Mercy in East Timor.

The last Bloggers’ Roundtable allowed me to interview Air Force Lt. Col. Ronald Wilt and Master Sgt. Jeffrey Flight of the Air Force Reserve’s 302d Airlift Wing. They are the only Air Force unit configured for wildland firefighting, dropping fire retardant.

When Lt. Col Wilt is sitting around the O Club, I imagine he hears a lot of TINS [This Is No Shit] stories from pilots who fly planes that begin with the letter F, F-15, F-16, F-18. “There I was, over Baghdad…”

His answer, I would suspect, is to invite them along on one of his missions.

Social media guru Peter Shankman has an innovative idea up, called Help a Reporter. The premise is simple. Build a network of people on-line who know something. Have writers and reporters submit their information needs to the site. Twice a day, broadcast the current list of needs with contact info to the membership.

Coalition forces captured a suspected propaganda specialist of the Hezbollah Brigades early Monday morning in the New Baghdad district of Baghdad.

Based on intelligence information, Coalition forces targeted the location of a suspected propaganda expert affiliated with the Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq. Information taken from suspected criminals already in custody indicate that the man uploads web sites with imagery and video taken from attacks on Iraqi Security and Coalition forces. Reports indicate this is part of a propaganda effort in order to earn money and support from their Iranian financiers.

The Women’s Centre in Zabul province is a bustling place. More than 100 women fill its classrooms and workshops. Their expectations are high.

With the training they are receiving in literacy, tailoring, carpet weaving and poultry raising, these women will be able to significantly increase their families’ monthly income. For some women it is the difference between malnourishment and prosperity for their children.