Publication:Chattanooga Times Free Press
Date:Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Section:Front Page; Page:1

By Edward Lee Pitts Military Affairs and Dorie Turner Staff Writer

Fifteen years ago, Jeanna Mullins heard from her husband once a month while he served in Operation Desert Storm.

Today, Sgt. 1st Class Rick Mullins calls nearly every day from Camp Caldwell, Iraq, where he is serving with the 278th Regimental Combat Team. "Modern technology has given the soldier more comforts than he has ever known," he said. Mrs. Mullins often gathers her grandchildren in front of a com puter video camera to record an e-mail greeting for him. "I try to send him an e-mail every night to tell him how my day has been," Mrs. Mullins said.

Technology has revolutionized the way military families communicate during war. Soldiers in Iraq send e-mails, post on Web logs and use online chat services such as AOL Instant Messenger to keep in touch with family and friends 6,000 miles away. Dr. Arthur Knoll, who teaches a class on modern warfare at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., said the technology creates a sense of "immediate accessibility," much like 24-hour cable news coverage of the war.

"Where soldiers used to have to write home, they have instant access to family via the Internet," Dr. Knoll said. "It brings war directly into the home on an immediate basis."

STAYING CONNECTED

More than 35 years ago, Sgt. Albert Howard, 59, had to make an appointment to call home from Vietnam, using a shortwave radio operator who would forward the call to the United States. The Ocoee, Tenn., resident called home just twice during his yearlong tour of duty in Vietnam in 1967.

Today, as a member of the 278th in Iraq, Sgt. Albert, a medic, calls home at least once a week and e-mails letters and pictures home almost every day. "It’s nice to hear my wife’s and son’s voices," he said. "And e-mail is even greater because you don’t have to wait two weeks or more to get a letter."

Second Lt. Lance Frizzell, 34, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., has a blog, the short term for a Web log or online journal, that he uses to update his family and friends on his life as a soldier.

The blog — iraq.billhobbs.com — helps provide his loved ones with "a little peace of mind," 2nd Lt. Frizzell said.

Michele Dasher, wife of Sgt. Mike Dasher of the Chattanooga-based Marine Reserves Battery M, or "Mike" Battery, has an interactive Web site — mikebtryfamily.us — for the families of the 155 Marines stationed in Fallujah, Iraq.

"It’s just a way for everybody to stay connected," Mrs. Dasher said.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Inside Camp Caldwell along the Iraq-Iran border, 278th soldiers can use the phone or browse the Internet at four Morale, Welfare and Recreation rooms, or MWRs, housing 100 computers and about 37 phones. Lt. Amanda Kutler, who oversees the MWRs as an officer with regimental communications, said soldiers can use the Internet to check on their bank accounts, look at military pay stubs, pay bills and shop online. Lt. Kutler said the military didn’t begin to make the World Wide Web easily available to rank-and-file soldiers until the late 1990s. Internet cafes for soldiers deployed in a combat zone first appeared in Bosnia in 2000, she said.

"It has been growing ever since," she said.

To avoid frequent waits for 30 minutes of usage time at the MWR, about 100 soldiers at one portion of Camp Caldwell have purchased a wireless Internet service for the Containerized Housing Units, or CHUs, where soldiers live. Called CHUNET by the soldiers, the system costs $150 for three months of service. "If you want to sit down and tell your wife you love her, you want a little bit of privacy," said Sgt. Scott Shafer, of Briceville, Tenn., who headed up the effort to start CHUNET.

Sgt. Shafer, who usually can be found sitting on the porch outside his CHU surfing the Internet on his laptop computer, said he is thankful regimental command green-lighted this creature comfort.

"The military is really paranoid about controlling all kinds of communications," he said while taking a break from chatting online with his wife. "They didn’t have to do this."

The regiment’s command still has the power to shut down the system instantly for security purposes, he said.

In addition to talking to his wife online, Sgt. Shafer said he plans on using his Web connection for educational purposes during his downtime here by finishing up his degree in biology and nursing.

Capt. Ed Ferguson, of Cleveland, Tenn., also is a member of CHUNET and said he doesn’t mind the cost. In the early 1980s as a Marine stationed in Korea and the Philippines, he spent as much as $100 to call home.

"I don’t have to save up money over the course of a month just to make one phone call," he said.

Soldiers assigned to run the MWRs are working on purchasing two Web cameras and microphones for each MWR. Loved ones from home will have to buy similar equipment if they want the soldiers to see and hear them. "There will definitely be a run on Web cams in Tennessee," said Staff Sgt. John Coppa, 47, of Cookeville, Tenn.

CALLING CARDS

Staying in touch with family members is not the only reason technology is making life easier for the modern U.S. soldier.

Spc. Jeff Jones, 37, of Cleveland, Tenn., unwinds in his CHU with a 21-inch television set, a DVD player and a PlayStation 2 video game system. He already owns about 30 games for his system. Neighbors like to come over and challenge him on his latest game.

"I’m getting my mom, my dad and my wife to send me different games for my birthday and other stuff, so the newest videos are always on the way," he said during a break in playing the latest war game, SOCOM U.S. Navy Seals.

Televisions satellite dishes costing about $150 for three months and offering up to 30 channels, including 15 in English, are sprouting up on the tops of many CHUs at Camp Caldwell.

Many soldiers are thankful for computer communications because phone calls can become expensive. When the call is placed from Iraq, a 120-minute phone card lasts for only about 10 minutes.

Staff Sgt. Boyd Evans, 57, of Etowah, Tenn., said a 500-minute AT&T phone card his family sent him for $25 burned up 400 minutes as soon as he placed the call home. The rest evaporated in about one 30-minute phone call. Most soldiers have switched over to a military system, called Sparwar Europe, where $25 buys them 10 1/2 hours of calling time.

One convenience of modern technology the 278th soldiers are not allowed is portable phones. Cell phones and satellite phones can be easily monitored by insurgent forces and are banned for security reasons. Despite having all this technology at their fingertips, some soldiers still value the old-fashioned letter. It takes about two weeks for a card and three weeks or more for a package to arrive in Iraq from the United States or to get to the United States from Iraq.

"It is just more personal, and it takes more effort to write a letter and actually think about what you are writing as opposed to just sitting down and typing 60 to 70 words per minute," said Spc. Michael Light, 50, of Knoxville, who averaged one letter home a week while deployed overseas during the Vietnam War. He now tries writing his wife, Cindy, three to four letters a week.

E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com
E-mail Dorie Turner at dturner@timesfreepress.com

Staff Photo by Jessica Lowry Jeanna Mullins, left, sits at the computer with her grandchildren Preslie, 4 months, and Lauren, 4. Mrs. Mullins regularly sends e-mail to her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Rick Mullins, who is serving in Iraq with the 278th Regimental Combat Team.

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