The increasing presence of Internet connected PCs in military units has provided very popular email access to home. But not all units have the same proportion of PCs, or access to the Internet. Marine combat units, once they are off their ships, lose access to the navy PCs they could use for email. The marine combat units have few Internet connected computers and these are restricted to official use only. So the marines are left to depend exclusively on regular mail, which does not have as high a priority as it did before email became widely available. Regular mail is still important for packages from home, which contain goodies that are much appreciated by troops away from for a long time. But the regular mail, in general, is getting slower. Part of this probably has to do with the mobilization of forces headed for the Persian Gulf, and the subsequent shortage of transport aircraft to carry mail on a timely basis. Mail does not have as high a priority as purely military items (weapons, troops, equipment), but it's absence does have a negative impact on morale.