DATE: Sunday, November 23, 1997             TAG: 9711230025

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LIZ SZABO, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   98 lines

E-MAIL HELPS FAMILIES CROSS SEAS QUICKLY, DAILY

Earlier this month, Ruth Larson's husband heard their baby laugh for the first time - through a speaker on his computer.

Larson, whose husband, Eric, is stationed aboard the Norfolk-based carrier George Washington, recorded their 4-month-old son's voice, then sent it to him in the Persian Gulf via the Internet. When Larson wants to share a new baby picture, she scans a photograph into a computer and sends a digitized copy through electronic mail.

No more waiting a month for a telephone call, or two weeks for a single letter, as Larson did during her husband's previous deployment. Now, they chat through electronic mail three times a day.

Talk about a sea change. The Internet now enables the Larsons and hundreds of other Hampton Roads families to stay in daily touch with loved ones while deployed thousands of miles away.

Since the George Washington left Norfolk six weeks ago, its network has handled about 300,000 messages, said Lt. Joe Navratil, the ship's public affairs officer.

The 5,600 people aboard have access to 600 computers, installed on the ship in July, or one for every nine people.

By the time the Mayport, Fla.-based carrier John F. Kennedy returned from a six-month Mediterranean deployment last month, it had handled a million e-mail messages, said Joe Gradisher, spokesman for the Atlantic Fleet's air forces.

And the e-mail habit is sure to spread: Everyone on the ``G.W.'' gets Internet training and their own account, Navratil said. Just last week the Navy opened the Wind and Surf Cafe/Resource Center, a ``cyber cafe'' at the Norfolk Naval Station with 12 computers, said base spokeswoman Martha Kessler.

The cafe soon will begin offering snacks such as coffee and bagels, charging customers a dollar for 12 minutes of computer use.

Gina Villanueva, whose husband is also aboard the George Washington, said she can't imagine ever going back to ``snail mail.''

``It's wonderful - it's like he's still part of all the decisions that need to be made here,'' Villanueva said.

Mary Marcontell, another G.W. spouse, said she hardly misses her husband. Now, rather than make decisions alone that affect them both, she consults with him over little things like fixing a flat tire, as well as the big stuff, like painting the house.

``Normally, when they get back, you have to do all this catching up,'' Marcontell said. ``But I feel like we are caught-up. I feel like we are in the same loop this time. It takes all the anxiety out of missing them.''

``E-mail doesn't compare to a perfumed letter,'' said Carrie Bufford, whose husband is aboard the carrier Nimitz, now patrolling the Persian Gulf.

``But,'' she said, ``it does get there quicker.''

Stateside spouses aren't talking just to their far-flung sailors. They're also talking to each other through online support groups.

``Reading these messages has been a great help to me,'' wrote Alexis Powers. ``I feel alone, not so much because my husband is gone but because I don't have anyone here to talk to that understands what I'm going through, and you all do because you're going through it too. We will all get through this together. . . . My heart goes out to all of you and especially those who are preggers.''

Such support groups are especially valuable to parents and children outside of Hampton Roads. Here, many families can meet in person. Those writing from Minnesota and Arizona note that they have few others to turn to.

``E-mail is great!!'' Deana Carfrae of Iowa wrote in an online interview. ``It's comforting to a parent to be able to keep in touch at least daily. . . dad had never touched a computer until he e-mailed Alex one day.''

Maintaining family stability this way improves Navy stability, the Navy's brass figures.

``E-mail has been a big boost to morale,'' said Navratil. ``E-mail gives families another way to communicate, and communicate quickly, which can only strengthen their relationships.''

Navratil uses it himself. ``I send an e-mail to my daughter, wishing her well on her test in school that day,'' he said. ``She takes a hard-copy version to school for good luck and writes back after school telling me how she did.''

Of course, technology has its limits.

Computers can crash. Rapid-fire e-mail messages could be a security risk during wartime, Gradisher said. Ships occasionally may have to shut their networks down for safety - or simply to maintain the electronics handling such heavy loads.

For families who've become accustomed to instantaneous communication, an unexplained silence of even a few days can be nerve-wracking.

``The only problems are when e-mail is down,'' Carfrae said. ``It's frustrating because you don't know if there is a problem, i.e, Persian Gulf, or if the system just isn't working.''

In addition, only the Navy's larger ships have the room for extensive computer labs. There's little room on a submarine for a cyber cafe, Gradisher noted.

And e-mail or no e-mail, Larson still gets up for all those 2 a.m. feedings by herself, and she gets no help changing all those diapers. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

TAMARA VONINSKI/The Virginian-Pilot

Ruth Larson keeps her husband, Eric, updated on their 4-month-old

son, Mark, by e-mailing him three times a day. Eric Larson is an

assistant weapons officer aboard the carrier George Washington.

E-mail allows him to see pictures and hear his son's laughter. The

carrier is equipped with 600 computers for the 5,600 people aboard.

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