Today, of the two million men and women on active duty in America’s armed services, about two-thirds are married and more than half are parents. Many are separated from their families for months at a time, even in peacetime.
The emotional stress of long separations puts a strain on family life and can affect troop morale. Fortunately, today’s information technologies are helping to bridge the miles.
Getting access to a telephone can still be difficult on the front lines, and calling home is complicated by time differences overseas. But many in the military now have access to personal computers and the Internet, which they are authorized to use for personal e-mail and instant messaging as well as for official business.
E-mail enables families to initiate contact instead of waiting for the phone to ring. When they have an emergency and need to reach a member of the military who cannot go online, families rely on the American Red Cross to relay the message via e-mail to its field offices at 108 U.S. military installations worldwide.
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