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Instant messages from the war

Jun-13-2005 » Filed Under: Homefront

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Peter Thompson

CARSON CITY - It was 106 degrees in Mosul on Friday with forecasts predicting highs in the 120s for next week. The shops were open, the people were out and all in all it was a pretty typical day, though, says Sgt. Donny Jenkins of Carson City, "There really aren't any typical days around here."

High-tech weapons systems like unmanned aerial vehicles, GPS-guided bombs and the hybrid Stryker combat infantry vehicle have done wonders to win battles and steel troop morale during the war in Iraq, but for many of the 150,000 soldiers in the country, there's nothing quite like an Internet chat with a family member to get them through another day.

Calling from the northern Iraqi city after a long day on patrol, Jenkins, 28, tells of how the comparatively simple technology of a web camera and e-mail account allows him to better focus on the military mission at hand.

Though stationed 7,000 unyielding miles from home along the Tigris River, the Internet enables the newlywed to see his wife's face nearly every day.

"Being able to communicate in real time is absolutely priceless," says Jenkins' mother, Janet Boyer. Jenkins' wife, Elizabeth, and mother-in-law, Denise Gomes, quickly nod their heads in agreement.

Talking to his family is just one of the many things Sgt. Jenkins is able to do online.

For his stepdaughter's fifth birthday, he surfed a few Web sites and ordered a play set for her.

He also sends his wife roses every week, sometimes twice a week. They hang in her bedroom, dozens of red, peach and white bunches of dried flowers.

"I've saved every single one," says Elizabeth, who didn't own a computer before her husband was deployed eight months ago.

Now, the room is practically built around her PC.[...]


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