32 degrees in Iraq???

If you think the temperature never gets below freezing in Iraq you're very wrong. In fact, the Baghdad area has been averaging between 28 and 35 degress as a low. I wasn't ready for the 120 degree temperatures that promise to plague the summer months but I wasn't ready to be cold either. Then again, I wasn't ready for most of what I've encountered so far.

My name is SGT Jenny Morgan. In about two months I'll be spending my 24th birthday in beautiful Baghdad. Probably we'll celebrate by me doing 24 push-ups while my buddies sing "Happy Birthday" to me and we'll all eat a chocolate Otis Spunkmeier muffin since that's the closest thing we get to cup-cakes around here. Originally, I'm from Springfield, Illinois where 28 degrees and lower is normal this time of year. I pretty much grew up there and that's where I met Mr. Chase. We were friends in high school (which really wasn't all that long ago and we're not THAT old...thanks.)

I joined the National Guard when I was 19. Honestly, I got bored in college and thought it'd be an adventure. And it has been. Four years and seven months of adventure. I've been to South America on medical missions and got to help out in New Orleans when Katrina hit. But the Army also awarded me the money I needed to finish school and I graduated from college last May (something I think you all should experience). I graduated in May and started my journey to Iraq in June. Needless to say, I didn't get much of a summer break. Bummer.

With all the buzz around the media about the war in Iraq I thought it might be a good idea to link up with you so you can get a different perspective on what's really happening here (Mr. Chase thought it was a good idea too). While I can't talk alot about what goes on here, I'll try the best I can to answer any questions you might have about Iraqis, Islam, the military and the war. While I'm not a subject matter expert, I'm experiencing day to day what you read about in the paper. It's just that the paper doesn't always capture the picture the way it really was. So dig deep, think hard, and ask away.

SGT Jenny