Military families have new way to stay in touch

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By Keith Eldridge

Summary

Topia Technologies of Tacoma says their 'Troop Skoot' technology enables military families to send videos and photos without compromising national security when regular E-mail just can't handle the load.

Story Published: Jun 5, 2007 at 9:05 PM PDT

Story Updated: Feb 22, 2010 at 12:23 PM PDT

Military families have new way to stay in touch
TACOMA -- A Pentagon crackdown on Internet communication is putting soldiers and their families in a bind. But a local high tech company is coming to their aid. It is a new effort called "Troop Skoot."

Army wife Katheren Gomez looks into a camera and says, "Hey babe. How are you doing?"
It is the way military families stay in touch with their loved ones in the war zone. " We love you and can't wait to see you."

Military families and soldiers have been using public Internet sites to send those messages and home videos back and forth. The Pentagon now says using places like MySpace and YouTube are just too public. Too many people can see it.

So the local company Topia Technology, of Tacoma, says Troop Skoot solves that problem.

It's a small thumb drive that does some big things. Topia says it enables military families to send videos and photos without compromising national security when regular E-mail just can't handle the load.

"We first wanted to look for an opportunity where we could help our troops; Find a problem that they were having and try to lend our technology to it and create a solution for them," said Rod Anderson of Topia.

Gomez is learning how to use Troop Skoot to stay in touch with Stryker Brigade husband Edward in Iraq.

"Oh it's very important, oh my gosh," she says. "You know there are some things you see the kids do one day that you have a great picture of and you want to share right away."

Military mom Vicky Mohler of Support America's Armed Forces says it's critical to morale.

"I think it's a critical piece of keeping the family ties to get together and sometimes just to see a face is all they need to see if they're having a down day," Mohler said. "So it's a boost."

Today, Topia is donating 5,000 of the devices to Fort Lewis soldiers and their families.

"Topia's donation is right on and as a Puget Sound company, we're really proud of our technology and they're a great demonstrator of it for the troops," said Tom Hinman of the USO.

The military wants to keep the family communication lines open, but not to outside forces.

Gomez signs off video, "Take care of yourself and check your Skoot files. Kiss, bye!"

Each thumb drive is capable of handling the equivalent of 10 feature lengths films and 'skoot' them through cyberspace.

For More Information:

www.topiatechnology.com

www.supportamericasarmedforces.com