Teleconference a true holiday gift

In the midst of the media gathering outside the North Idaho College library’s teleconferencing room Thursday, two boys stood with their mother, peering into the room.

“Hey, that’s my dad!” one exclaimed.

Conner Kinnune, 12, went into the room with his 14-year-old brother, Derrick, and mother, Susan, and for a visit via live video with his father, Robert Kinnune, a chaplain with the 321st Army Reserves Engineer Battalion in Iraq.

The family hasn’t been together since Robert Kinnune left in July. Neither have others who accepted an invitation from NIC and the Family Readiness Group, a support group for families with loved ones at war, to visit with their soldiers through videoconferencing technology.

Group member Dianne Lemley, mother of Robert Kinnune, worked with NIC to organize the event. Through coordination with the U.S Army’s TeleEngineering Operations Center in Mississippi, members of the battalion were able to talk to their families live via video just days before Christmas.

Lemley’s grandchildren and daughter-in-law traveled from their home in Otis Orchards to participate, along with Robert Kinnune’s 99-year-old grandfather, Laurence Bolks.

“You guys see me waving?” said Robert Kinnune, seen on a big-screen TV in his camouflage uniform.

“Yes,” his sons replied in unison.

As media and NIC employees looked on, the Kinnunes shared their plans for Christmas, discussed school and, above all, enjoyed each other’s company.

“Hey, zoom in on Derrick for a second,” Robert Kinnune said.

“There we go,” he said as the camera focused on his son, a freshman at Spokane Valley’s East Valley High School. “There’s my oldest boy right there.”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Derrick replied.

“You keep holding the fort down for me, OK bud?” Robert Kinnune instructed.

Robert Kinnune said a Christmas Eve service is planned for the troops, and they’ll watch a movie Christmas Day – either “Miracle on 34th Street” or “It’s a Wonderful Life” – and do a gift exchange.

The Kinnunes are part of the fortunate few with access to Web cameras, which allows them to visit often. Derrick and Conner sometimes play checkers or chess with their father over the Internet. Still, the distance between them can be trying.

“I sure miss you guys. You know that?” Robert Kinnune said. “Susan, Derrick, Conner – I miss you guys so much.”

Before they said their goodbyes, Robert Kinnune asked his sons to name their number one job.

“Being a good student. That’s our job,” said Conner, a student at Mountain View Middle School.

Susan Kinnune said the visit was good, but awkward with a group of strangers watching.

Reporters and photographers were allowed to sit in on visits if families gave the OK, and they were given a list of rules instructing them to be sensitive of family privacy and not reveal details about the soldiers’ locations or schedules.

“You gotta be careful with any specifics in this conversation,” Kinnune told his family – a reminder of where he was and what he was charged with doing.