Today, I would like to bring you, the reader, up to date on how things have been going here in Iraq and some general information. I will start by saying that most of what I send will be nopnspecific. By that I mean we in the military have what's called "need to know" information and that's what I will be sending. If there is no "need to know" then it will not be known. This is for security reasons, and I hope this can be understood. The country of Iraq has been pleasant as far as the weather goes, and the people seem to be kind-hearted and friendly. But, one can never really know for sure if it's genuine. Most of the people I've talked to seem to be glad we are here, but the place where I am currently stationed gets mortared, on average, every day. That has got to be from some of the same people we see every day, go figure. It will be getting very hot soon. Currently it's about 75 degrees during the day and 50 in the morning. August will bring averages of 125. One of the big things we are trying to do is shift military control over to the Iraqi army. I will be directly involved in this process. The soldiers I've met always seem to want "things" from us. Things like flashlights, boots, knives, CDs, and just about anything American. When one speaks just a little Arabic it seems to please the soldiers. Many of these men fought against the coalition in '91 and also against Iran. The soldiers also seem to know a lot about American culture, particularly music. The action here seems to be picking up, and I believe we are going to have a busy summer. We have come close to getting blown up by several IEDs, Improvised Explosive Devices, and those are the worst. These IEDs can look like blocks of concrete, piles of trash, soda cans, tires, etc., and be placed in abandoned vehicles or animal carcasses. I've been told that, in order to stop us and kill us, that it's not uncommon for small children to run in front of our vehicles. I hope to share what is happening on the ground here with as many as possible and will do my best. But, please remember, that I am only the messenger. The truth is what it is.