Abu Ghraib, Iraq ? Just after sunrise, the detainees began lining up inside the trash-strewn compound called Camp Ganci, where they had spent their last night at this infamous prison west of Baghdad.

As they waited for the buses that would take them home, the detainees called out farewells to relatives and friends in nearby compounds who would remain behind. Many clutched bags made of the plastic packaging of ready-to-eat meals. Some beamed, while others cast somber glances as they walked out of the barbed wire enclosure and accepted $25 in cash to help them get back on their feet.

Military police officers joked with the detainees and shook their hands. One gently warned, “I don’t want to see you again, brother.”

The rituals were part of the preparations by the U.S. military to release more than 500 prisoners from Abu Ghraib prison. It is the latest batch to be sent home under the military’s plan to reduce the prison’s population to between 1,500 and 2,000 by the June 30 transfer of authority to a transitional Iraqi government.

The average stay for most of the prisoners released Monday was three to six months, spent in tents on the grounds where all security detainees in U.S. custody are now held.

With new regulations in place and new soldiers guarding the detainees, many of the detainees said this was no longer the same prison where thousands were tortured and executed by Saddam Hussein’s security forces and where American soldiers allegedly abused prisoners.

“The Army is good now,” said Satr Sim Mohammad, 23, who wore a black fez with red stitching. He took it off to reveal a Nike logo inside that had been borrowed from a stocking cap. Asked why he was in Abu Ghraib, he smiled and shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “I have a small problem.”

Ali Majid hugs his daughters Ghasak and Miriam as his wife, Mona, cries at the family's home in Baghdad, Iraq. Majid was released along with hundreds of other prisoners Monday from Abu Ghraib.