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CNN Sunday Morning

E-Mail Ties Military Families Together

Aired December 16, 2001 - 09:25   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It must seem like a world away -- U.S. troops on the war front in Afghanistan and the family they left behind on the home front.

As CNN's Thelma Gutierrez reports, with the click of the mouse, the two are able to keep in touch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A keyboard, a monitor, and a click of a mouse, the only intimacy, the only connection for military wives like Melissa (ph) and husbands like Brent (ph), who are separated by distance and the prospect of war.

(on camera): This is the first major conflict where loved ones stationed on a warship or on the ground thousands of miles away can actually stay connected on a daily basis through e-mail. They say that makes a big difference in how they're able to cope with the separation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just logon to the computer, and you've got mail, and it's from him. It's just great.

GUTIERREZ: Everyone in this room knows just how tough it is, and sometimes an occasional e-mail isn't enough.

MEREDITH LAYBA, CINCHOUSE.COM: How do you keep your marriage together during a six-month deployment? How do you teach your kids about what daddy is doing in Afghanistan?

GUTIERREZ: Meredith Layba says only a military wife can help answer those questions, so she came up with a meeting place on the web.

LAYBA: Cinchouse.com gets about 40,000 visitors per month.

GUTIERREZ: Cinchouse.com is an Internet support group for military families. It stands for commander in chief of the house.

MELISSA: And to have the support when everyone's away, that's awesome.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we get together, we have things to talk about, our frustrations or our worries. GUTIERREZ: Melissa is a newly wed.

MELISSA: I'm going to miss his encouragement.

GUTIERREZ: But Brent is on a ship headed for the Arabian Sea.

LAYBA: We also have a community of very good friends who come over and pick us up off the floor and allow us that shoulder to cry on.

GUTIERREZ: And now they also have this, to reach out to loved ones and each other for comfort.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Carlsbad Village, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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