It’s amazing how much technology has changed the way our soldiers can communicate with their loved ones and each other.  When I first joined the Army Reserve back in 1981, the only way I could communicate back home was to find a pay phone or a calling center, and then make sure I had enough change to keep feeding the phone (or God forbid use my credit card and get charged $3 a minute).  During my annual trainings in Korea or Japan, I was largely out of touch with my family, friends and civilian employer for the whole two weeks.

Our soldiers today are connected with all those people through a variety of new technologies (cell phone, VOIP phone, email, videomail, etc), but the old standbys are still here but fading fast. For instance, the local post office accepts mail only two hours a week (but there are places elsewhere in the International Zone that are open daily) and we all know how hard it is to find a payphone these days (especially in a combat zone). I think it would be wise to make sure we keep the old communication channels open for at least a while longer. The past two days here at the CPIC provide support for my position.

On Tuesday, I arrived in the office to find I had received only 15 emails overnight; normally I have about 120. Although I was happy, warning bells went off in my head. Next I tried to access my CPIC Conference Room group calendar to check the activities of the day….and the computer had the audacity to reply that I did not have permission to look at the calendar. Hmmmmph! This was not acceptable. I refuse to be beaten by a bunch of wires and microchips.

I checked with our unit’s Information Management Officer and first line of defense against computer viruses and unplugged CPUs, 2LT Joseph Larrew, to find out what was up. He said he was aware there were some problems, and that he would come and do his magic with my computer. He tried, and for a while it did work to some extent, but it became obvious that this was going to take more than a long IMO to solve. This was a dreaded “network problem.”

For the past two days we have been in the midst of this: getting some emails, but missing most of them; sending emails only to find they have never arrived (not even a letter from the postman telling you that the recipient had refused to accept it); and limited access (if you are lucky) to group calendars. Luckily, I can call people here in Baghdad and tell them I don’t have access to those new-fangled technologies, although when they call me, they cannot leave a voicemail message (sorry, I must have been in the latrine when you called back).

I have to tell you that normally I am a big advocate of the use of technology to increase productivity, create greater accountability, and make the lives of our soldiers better. But, let something like the last 48 hours happen, and I make the Luddites look progressive. Ask anyone I have worked with and they will tell you that the technology withdrawals I go through are worse than DTs. I curse under my breath, pace the floor, and generally let everyone know that technology is a tool of the devil. I vow to never be taken in by that flim-flam man Bill Gates.

Of course, right about that time someone from Information Management directorate comes in, types something into my computer, and two minutes later I am in love with my computer again.

So, if you are someone at the State Department expecting me to update a calendar, please know that there is nothing I would rather do than hit the “send” button on my email and clear that off my list of things to do. If you are friends and family looking for an email, I’ll send you a letter if the email doesn’t become available tomorrow. And, if you are that nice person in Information Management directorate that said he would need some time to research, I promise to keep my mumbled cursing to a minimum if you fix my problems tomorrow.