The McClellan family is finding new ways to keep in touch.

On Memorial Day, Connie McClellan waved the flag along with thousands of other Americans commemorating those who have fought in the past. She also celebrated the return of her son, John, who served in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"When he first got there he was able to call fairly frequently, about three times a week," said Connie McCellan. "But then as time went on we didn't get calls as frequently, and then we discovered instant messaging."

The Department of Defense has banned troops from accessing 11 popular web sites, including YouTube, Myspace and Photobucket. The reason? Concerns about internet speed and troop security. The military even has a training video outlining the risks of internet usage.

Norman Cox is an Army captain with the 835th Corps from Centralia. He has served for the past 20 years.

"Nowadays you put it up on YouTube and MySpace and millions of people might be checking that out, you never know who's out there," said Cox.

Before the ban, Cox and his fellow officers pitched in to buy a website to keep in touch with their loved ones.

"They can see kinda what we were doing and how we were doing. All we had, things we had that were going on, kind of our day-to-day life over there," said Cox.

For those at home and abroad, keeping in touch is an emotional ordeal.

"Being in that family frame of mind and having to go out on the road and having to switch mindsets that was probably tough, but I wouldn't have given that up," Cox said.

McClellan doesn't have to worry as much any more. She can call her son whenever she wants now that he's back in Columbia.

Captain Norman Cox has been home for two years and has added a third child to his family.