Soldiers Use New Technology to Connect With Folks Back Home

ByABC News
February 22, 2007, 4:59 PM

Feb. 22, 2007— -- For many Americans, Iraq -- its landscape, its culture, its people -- still remains a mystery. But not for long. Now, thanks to the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry Division and Apple's iTunes, people across the United States and around the world can learn about life in Iraq straight from the horse's mouth.

Since their deployment in 2006, a few Baghdad-based soldiers have reported the most current events and operational updates in the Iraqi capital in a daily radio broadcast, appropriately titled "Cav Roundup."

Led by Sgt. Scott Pittillo, a noncommissioned officer and co-producer of the show, the "Cav Roundup" serves as a window into the daily lives of soldiers in Iraq, showcasing both their successes and their failures.

"The Cav has a great history," said Sgt. First Class Rick Lewis in an interview with ABC News. "There's a lot of folks who follow the Cav wherever the Cav goes. They want to know what is going on, what they are doing, how they are doing."

But the Army hopes that "Cav Roundup," in association with iTunes, will go beyond their traditional audience and broaden the scope of the Army's message to the American public.

"Cav Roundup" is "important to soldiers and their families because we are entering and developing a new and innovative way to explain their mission to the American public as well as our global audiences," said Lt. Col. John Robinson, director of the Media Services Division, in a press release last week.

Originally conceived as a window between the Cav soldiers in Iraq and their families and supporters back in Fort Hood, Texas, "Cav Roundup" was picked up by radio stations across the state and has garnered more attention than anyone ever imagined. "The whole idea was to try and do [the Cav Roundup] every day. To try and get it out to our folks in central Texas, so they have an idea of what we were doing," said Lewis.

The idea for the "Cav Roundup" came to the soldiers before they were deployed from Fort Hood last year. Initially, the show was set up as a typical five-minute radio news brief with tease music, several different reports, and promos for future stories. But, said Lewis, "we found that to be a monster we couldn't constantly feed. So, we switched to the idea of a three-minute program, and it's a much tighter production."