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Limited cargo space and fears of anthrax-laced envelopes have caused the U.S. military to discourage the sending of snail mail to soldiers in the Middle East. But for families, friends, and well-wishers hoping to contact troops moving across the deserts of Iraq, e-mail has become a viable alternative.

"This is not a situation where we are trying to discourage the people from supporting the troops," a Pentagon spokesperson says. "What we're doing is have them try to do it in a more productive manner."

U.S. armed forces are a tech-savvy group, quicker, more precise, and more efficient than ever, military commanders say. E-mail, a luxury not widely available during the 1991 Gulf War, has become the norm in and around Iraq. Families and friends are now spared the postage fees and the 10-day shipping times it used to take to get their messages to soldiers halfway around the world.

Internet Access

A number of "morale centers," the tented equivalent of the college computer lab, are set up at U.S. staging areas. Soldiers can surf the Web or zip off messages to loved ones.

Washington-based Army Major Amy Hannah recently got back from a stint in Afghanistan, where she logged on via satellite feed every couple of days.

"The good thing about e-mail is that you can access it at any time," Hannah says. "If you just got off your shift and you're going to make a phone call home, who knows if your family is going to be up then?"

As laptops have become essential to many military endeavors, soldiers on the move to Baghdad are also able to dial in, according to Patrick Swan, a spokesperson for the Army's Strategic Command. Each service member is given a government-issued in-box that they can check via a branchwide portal known as Army Knowledge Online. Army field commanders use a classified version of the portal to give and receive orders.

Internet access is almost ubiquitous, Swan says, but adds that it's not always a priority. "Right now they're going to take on the Republican Guard, so it's not a priority. But one can't say that these frontline fighters won't have access," he says.

Online Well-Wishers

Operation Dear Abby, a program set up during the Vietnam War for letters intended for any service member, has been transferred to the Internet. Well-wishers can still send a 1000-word message to a specific branch of the services. Troops visiting the forum online can read the posts, which are often printed and circulated by unit commanders.

The Navy has developed a form that lets surfers target their support to a particular ship. And more than 8.3 million supporters have added their names to the Defense Department's online thank-you note.

People can also send video feeds to soldiers at GiveThanksAmerica.com. Set up by Compaq Computer in December 2001, the Web site lets supporters access free software to upload digital video files. The recipient is sent an electronic ticket that lets them view the clip at the GiveThanks site.

Digital Care Packages

Several online forums have been set up to distribute more tangible thanks to those in uniform. A $25 online donation to Operation USO Care Package will put a box of miscellaneous luxuries such as playing cards, CDs, razor blades, and sunscreen into the hands of a U.S. soldier shipping out from the States. Sponsors can send along a message to be included in the package.

Web surfers can also donate phone cards worth $25 or more to soldiers at OperationUplink.org. Begun in 1996, the program has distributed more than 900,000 phone cards to U.S. troops in the last 100 days.

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