Freedom isn’t free and neither is the WiFi.

Our Story

Why This Cause?

I was newly married, had just moved 2,000 miles away from my family, and was finishing my last year of school when I learned of my husband’s upcoming deployment. He would be gone our first Thanksgiving, our first Christmas and my birthday. I knew he was being sent to Afghanistan, but little else. Being newly married, and moving across the country was difficult enough, but adding a deployment created even more of a challenge.

The prospect of being able to communicate most days eased some of my anxiety and allowed for some comfort as he left. It was only after his arrival in Afghanistan that we realized that regular communication, the ability to connect to social media, or even to watch movies would take individual WiFi. Imagine my surprise when I realized that it would cost $100 per month to have communication with my husband. Needless to say, the fee was paid and we both enjoyed the benefit of the WiFi access; however, the insanity of the cost made me realize that while it was somewhat manageable for us, that may not always be the case for others.

 First steps

After talking with other friends who were also deployed, I heard so many stories about ridiculous amounts friends had paid to communicate with their friends and family while deployed. The practice of charging for individual WiFi was commonplace. Although the monthly amount varies depending on where the soldier is deployed, it seems to run between $60-$120 for WiFi that is often marginal. One friend whose husband was in Iraq actually paid $180 per month. However, this still provides them a way to connect with family and friends, as well as allows them the ability to watch movies, listen to music, and feel confident that their personal information is more secure with a private IP address.

While there is government WiFi, it is available only in a single room in camp. The government-provided internet option is slow, cumbersome, and only available in the MRW (morale, recreation and welfare) room. This is an approximately 400 sq. ft. room to be shared by 2-3,000 soldiers. One soldier pointed out that as long as there were fewer than 5 people in the MRW, it only took about three minutes to load a page. Needless to say, there is no way to download a movie, music or to access social media sites in that situation.

Harsh Realizations

While the $100 adjustment in our budget was doable, although we also were continuing to pay for WiFi at home, for many it is not. When I began to discuss this with other military wives the hardship became more apparent. I realized that many of them were married to enlisted men with small children at home. For example, one wife has two young children, one of which has medical issues that don’t allow the child to attend day care or school of any type. For many of the families, an extra budget item isn’t as easily absorbed.

Family and friends

I began talking about what I had learned with non-military family and friends, I quickly realized several things. First and foremost, very few people realize that deployed service members must pay to have individual WiFi. Second, all the people I spoke with were appalled to realize how high the cost of individual WiFi is. To add insult to injury, a friend pointed out that the WiFi at her office which has 6 people, phone lines run by internet, and blazing speed only costs $98 per month. Finally, I realized that people are so appreciative of all that our soldiers do, but they aren’t exactly sure how to help.

A Non-Profit is born

One of my favorite places to be is the lake with family and friends. Family time is very important to me. Time spent with friends is renewing and strengthening. It was here that the idea began to take root and truly blossom. I admit, I was doing a little whining, knowing that my husband would soon leave for his next deployment. It was just a little suffering as we talked about his departure and the emotional and fiscal cost that goes with it. I know I am not alone in this; it affects all military families. While there isn’t much I can do about most of it, I realized there was something I could do about a little of it. With the encouragement of those around me, we decided it was time to give this cause a name: WiFI for Warriors was born! With their help, paperwork was filed, a website and Instagram were started, and steps were taken to begin to raise awareness and lessen the burden of deployment on families. Thank you in advance for your support and donations.

- Morgan