Skype video helps span the long distance Published Oct. 22, 2009 By Senior Airman Eric Summers Jr. 81st Training Wing Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- As service members deploy, family members and friends are constantly looking for ways to communicate among each other while apart. One Keesler newlywed couple is using a program called Skype to help break some of the communication barriers while separated by deployment. "Skype is a program that you can download and anyone anywhere can use it," said Tech. Sgt. Laureen May, 81st Medical Group. "All you need to do is set up an account and you are good to go." Once users download the program and register for an account, they are able to participate in video calls or PC-to-PC calls with other users. "I talk to my husband about once a week using Skype," said the sergeant. "We are able to see each other instead of just talking on the phone. You can see the emotion; we are newlyweds so it's especially nice to be able to see him." Sergeant May's husband, Tech. Sgt. Michael May, 334th Training Squadron, deployed to Kirkuk Regional Air Base, Iraq, two weeks after their marriage. "It does make a world of a difference from being able to see the body language and facial expressions and helps keep the relationship alive," she said. "Communication is important in a relationship and static can interfer with talking on the phone. Using (Skype) makes us feel like we are closer than we are." Sergeant May recommends using the program to help keep all relationships, especially for those between parent and child, close. "It helps keep those bonds that can be lost during that time," she said.