The war in Iraq has showcased incredible military technology, but what is often overlooked is how technology has impacted the daily routines of the U.S. troops.

With more than 150,000 U.S. troops stationed in Iraq, the need to help the troops stay in touch with their families is enormous. Fortunately, with the advances of the Internet, being halfway around the world does not have to mean a soldier has to sacrifice staying in contact with his or her loved ones.

The traditional methods of soldiers stationed around the world communicating with relatives through handwritten letters and phone calls is now changing with the introduction of broadband technologies. Now, more than ever, e-mail and instant messaging is becoming the dominant method for U.S. troops to let wives, husbands, sons and daughters know that they are going to be all right.

Before Jae Rhee came to the University to study East Asian languages and cultures, he was a specialist who served with the 101st Airborne in Iraq from Sept. 2003 to Feb. 2004. During his time in Iraq, he was fortunate enough to work with computers that he could use on occassion to write e-mails back home. Most soldiers he served with, however, did not have the same access he did until Oct. 2003, when they finally got “wired.”

Saddam Hussein’s palace in Mosul, Iraq, became a home away from home where U.S. troops slept and ate, but it wasn’t until an Internet cafe was set up inside by the military that U.S. troops were able to communicate on a daily basis with relatives and friends back in the United States.

“It was free of charge. When you go in to the cafe, you sign in and wait for your turn,” Rhee said. “You got to use the computer for 15 minutes if there was a line. If not, you could continue signing in and extend your time.”

Outfitted with headphones and Web cameras, the Internet cafe had 20 Dell desktop computers hooked up and was operated by contracted Iraqis. U.S. troops could use a variety of instant messaging programs – MSN, AOL, Yahoo! – in addition to e-mail. While the military provides each U.S. soldier with an e-mail account, many troops opted to use free Web mail services, such as Hotmail.

“I contacted my parents with Hotmail, mainly because they’re not very good with instant messenger,” Rhee said about e-mailing his parents who lived back home in Champaign. He also was able to use AOL Instant Messenger to chat with his girlfriend in Japan.

Rhee recalls visiting the Internet cafe during down time while working in Iraq and during lunch hours.

The demand for Internet access often was larger than the supply. On a daily basis, soldiers would wait up to an hour in line to use a computer in the cafe. Soon, another independent Internet cafe also sprang up in Mosul to meet the growing demand of soldiers who wanted to use the Web to stay in contact with their families. The Iraqi civilian-run cafe charged a dollar an hour for anyone to use the Internet and helped meet the huge necessity of the soldiers to communicate.

Despite how Internet technologies have allowed for U.S. troops to more easily and frequently touch base with those who support them, it has not been without complications. After Marine Lance Cpl. Justin M. Ellsworth was killed in Iraq, his parents entered a legal battle to get Yahoo! to release the password to his e-mail account to access what could be unsent messages from before his death. Negotiations are ongoing. And a lawsuit has been filed by six Navy SEALs against the Associated Press after an AP reporter discovered a Web site that featured personal photographs of Navy SEALs in alleged abuse of detained prisoners.

The personal lives of those who serve our country has started to become more public with the unrealized consequences of a computerized age. And while a few bad incidents have surfaced via the Internet, the benefits of keeping our men and women in uniform connected has been a positive tool.

“You could stop and use it for 10 minutes and write quick notes to let them know you’re all right,” Rhee said.

Sometimes, it’s the little things that count.