thedrifter
09-08-09, 08:52 AM
Live from the front: Hamilton woman writes book about instant communication from war zones after son contacts her from Iraqi battlefield
Brent Ainsworth
Marin Independent Journal
Posted:09/07/2009 11:54:18 PM PDT
Teri Mackey answered her phone and was surprised to hear the voice of her son, Jed, whom she knew was somewhere on the front lines in Iraq.
"I'm trapped on a rooftop, and I don't think we are going to make it out of here."
There she was, in the comfort of her own home, clearly hearing the life-and-death stress in her son's voice along with the cracking sounds of gunfire. Jed wanted to hear his mother's voice just in case it was the last time.
He survived, thanks to the choppers that roared over his head soon after that phone conversation ended.
Teri Mackey, a Hamilton resident, recounts that conversation and how it rattled her to the
bone in her new self-published book, "I Know It Happened Because I Heard It," a study of instantaneous communication from modern battlefields and the effect it has on soldiers and families.
The sociological study was borne from her master's studies at Sonoma State University. She transferred her thesis into a book to help homefront loved ones prepare for real-time dispatches not dealt with in any previous war.
"I remember talking to other parents in my situation and found out we had common behaviors," Mackey said. "We were staying at home waiting for calls, checking the Internet for reports, constantly checking e-mail, losing sleep, and we all felt that nobody was going through what we were going through."
Mackey's husband, Mark, is a captain with the U.S. Coast Guard and based in Alameda. Their 29-year-old son Jed went from the harrowing chopper rescue to serve six active years in the National Guard and twice served in the Middle East, and today he is in law enforcement. In addition to daughter Elizabeth, 27, the Mackeys have another son, Samuel, 25. He is in the Navy and deployed overseas.
Lt. Col. Steve Countouriotis, a former Marin resident, has served in Iraq and Afghanistan along with his three kids, all Terra Linda High School graduates. Demetrius did two tours with the Marines; Alethea did one with the Army; Nick did one with the Army and was shot in the arm. Steve's wife, Debbie, is principal of the Timothy Murphy School in Marinwood.
"I certainly felt more connected with my family by being able to communicate with them on a regular basis," the elder Countouriotis said. "The calls and e-mails most certainly helped to boost my morale. My wife agrees that the e-mails and telephone calls we exchanged when I was in Iraq and Afghanistan helped to ease the loneliness of being apart." Ê
Mill Valley native Brett Walker, a retired Army captain, finished his two Middle East tours in February. He said those serving in Iraq have it much better than those in Afghanistan when it comes to communication tools. Often in Afghanistan, he was 40 miles from the nearest phone and his family went weeks and sometimes months between updates from him.
But constant contact can be sobering, he added. "It reminds you how much you miss your home and your friends and your family," Walker said. "However, it also alleviates much of the stress endured by your loved ones." Ê
Walker said his wife, parents, brother and friends would agree that more communication is better but that conversations can lead to frustration because of security restrictions on the details of an assignment and because of the radical time difference. Ê
"I was frequently asked when I would be coming home, how long I'd be gone on patrol, where my next mission would take place," he said. "I could not answer any of those questions."
Novato resident Rima Hardy hasn't gone through quite what the Mackey or the Countouriotis families have experienced, but her daughter, Katie Gordillo, is an airborne combat medic with the U.S. Army and is scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan in November. Hardy read Mackey's book and said she is grateful for it.
"The book was very important for me," Hardy said. "This war is a different war because of this instantaneous communication. Families are going through much different things than they did in Vietnam and Korea."
Mackey said not every family welcomes such instant communication from war zones. There are some who shun it and do not want to live their lives on pins and needles. Keeping a distance might be the only way for those people to get through it, Hardy said.
The same reasoning works for those who choose to be connected.
"They cling to it and it makes them feel better," Hardy said. "It's like, 'At least today I know he's not dead' and that helps them get through the day."
Walker said he never made a phone call home during a patrol or mission because he believed it would distract from his duty.Ê
"When performing a mission, all of one's focus should be on the immediate environment, not 4,000 miles away in America," Walker said, noting that he means no disrespect to Mackey's son and his rooftop predicament. "Every time I was in real danger I started shooting back at the enemy. The only phone calls I was making were on the radio to the mortar section asking for more steel on target."
Marine Corps Sgt. Fred Calonico, a San Rafael native, said an e-mail or phone call to family from behind friendly lines is fine, but dispatches from behind enemy lines should be avoided. A soldier instant-mailing home while on a mission could mean eyes not locked on enemy movements or feet tripping on a booby trap, he said.
He noted that during his first tour in 2003 there were no phones or Internet access available to him in Iraq.
"I was cut off and my family had no way of knowing where I was except on three different (TV) channels trying to find out which units were advancing where," he wrote in an e-mail from Iraq. "Now I'm here in 2009 with Internet access and phone, so it's great."
Technology is not going to go away, Mackey said. Kids, especially in affluent places such as Marin, grow up with cell phones almost surgically attached to their hands.
"It has become a part of them, and when they get on the battlefield it's still a part of them," she said. "The genie is out of the bottle and you can't put the genie back."
Read more Novato stories at the IJ's Novato section.
Contact Brent Ainsworth via e-mail at bainsworth@marinij.com
Ellie
Brent Ainsworth
Marin Independent Journal
Posted:09/07/2009 11:54:18 PM PDT
Teri Mackey answered her phone and was surprised to hear the voice of her son, Jed, whom she knew was somewhere on the front lines in Iraq.
"I'm trapped on a rooftop, and I don't think we are going to make it out of here."
There she was, in the comfort of her own home, clearly hearing the life-and-death stress in her son's voice along with the cracking sounds of gunfire. Jed wanted to hear his mother's voice just in case it was the last time.
He survived, thanks to the choppers that roared over his head soon after that phone conversation ended.
Teri Mackey, a Hamilton resident, recounts that conversation and how it rattled her to the
bone in her new self-published book, "I Know It Happened Because I Heard It," a study of instantaneous communication from modern battlefields and the effect it has on soldiers and families.
The sociological study was borne from her master's studies at Sonoma State University. She transferred her thesis into a book to help homefront loved ones prepare for real-time dispatches not dealt with in any previous war.
"I remember talking to other parents in my situation and found out we had common behaviors," Mackey said. "We were staying at home waiting for calls, checking the Internet for reports, constantly checking e-mail, losing sleep, and we all felt that nobody was going through what we were going through."
Mackey's husband, Mark, is a captain with the U.S. Coast Guard and based in Alameda. Their 29-year-old son Jed went from the harrowing chopper rescue to serve six active years in the National Guard and twice served in the Middle East, and today he is in law enforcement. In addition to daughter Elizabeth, 27, the Mackeys have another son, Samuel, 25. He is in the Navy and deployed overseas.
Lt. Col. Steve Countouriotis, a former Marin resident, has served in Iraq and Afghanistan along with his three kids, all Terra Linda High School graduates. Demetrius did two tours with the Marines; Alethea did one with the Army; Nick did one with the Army and was shot in the arm. Steve's wife, Debbie, is principal of the Timothy Murphy School in Marinwood.
"I certainly felt more connected with my family by being able to communicate with them on a regular basis," the elder Countouriotis said. "The calls and e-mails most certainly helped to boost my morale. My wife agrees that the e-mails and telephone calls we exchanged when I was in Iraq and Afghanistan helped to ease the loneliness of being apart." Ê
Mill Valley native Brett Walker, a retired Army captain, finished his two Middle East tours in February. He said those serving in Iraq have it much better than those in Afghanistan when it comes to communication tools. Often in Afghanistan, he was 40 miles from the nearest phone and his family went weeks and sometimes months between updates from him.
But constant contact can be sobering, he added. "It reminds you how much you miss your home and your friends and your family," Walker said. "However, it also alleviates much of the stress endured by your loved ones." Ê
Walker said his wife, parents, brother and friends would agree that more communication is better but that conversations can lead to frustration because of security restrictions on the details of an assignment and because of the radical time difference. Ê
"I was frequently asked when I would be coming home, how long I'd be gone on patrol, where my next mission would take place," he said. "I could not answer any of those questions."
Novato resident Rima Hardy hasn't gone through quite what the Mackey or the Countouriotis families have experienced, but her daughter, Katie Gordillo, is an airborne combat medic with the U.S. Army and is scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan in November. Hardy read Mackey's book and said she is grateful for it.
"The book was very important for me," Hardy said. "This war is a different war because of this instantaneous communication. Families are going through much different things than they did in Vietnam and Korea."
Mackey said not every family welcomes such instant communication from war zones. There are some who shun it and do not want to live their lives on pins and needles. Keeping a distance might be the only way for those people to get through it, Hardy said.
The same reasoning works for those who choose to be connected.
"They cling to it and it makes them feel better," Hardy said. "It's like, 'At least today I know he's not dead' and that helps them get through the day."
Walker said he never made a phone call home during a patrol or mission because he believed it would distract from his duty.Ê
"When performing a mission, all of one's focus should be on the immediate environment, not 4,000 miles away in America," Walker said, noting that he means no disrespect to Mackey's son and his rooftop predicament. "Every time I was in real danger I started shooting back at the enemy. The only phone calls I was making were on the radio to the mortar section asking for more steel on target."
Marine Corps Sgt. Fred Calonico, a San Rafael native, said an e-mail or phone call to family from behind friendly lines is fine, but dispatches from behind enemy lines should be avoided. A soldier instant-mailing home while on a mission could mean eyes not locked on enemy movements or feet tripping on a booby trap, he said.
He noted that during his first tour in 2003 there were no phones or Internet access available to him in Iraq.
"I was cut off and my family had no way of knowing where I was except on three different (TV) channels trying to find out which units were advancing where," he wrote in an e-mail from Iraq. "Now I'm here in 2009 with Internet access and phone, so it's great."
Technology is not going to go away, Mackey said. Kids, especially in affluent places such as Marin, grow up with cell phones almost surgically attached to their hands.
"It has become a part of them, and when they get on the battlefield it's still a part of them," she said. "The genie is out of the bottle and you can't put the genie back."
Read more Novato stories at the IJ's Novato section.
Contact Brent Ainsworth via e-mail at bainsworth@marinij.com
Ellie