Amanda Raymond knew what it was like to see a loved one deployed to a far-off land. Growing up, she had watched her dad, a career Navy man, grab his bags and leave home dozens of times.

She also knew what it was like to be separated for a long period from her husband, Navy Lt. Gary Raymond. For most of the first three years of their marriage, he was either in school or on a ship.

When it came time for Gary to leave for a 406-day deployment in Iraq, however, his nonmilitary family in Dayton had trouble understanding what was happening and why. In an effort to help them and others see what the deployment procedure is like, Amanda, 30, and Gary, 29, of Prospect and their daughter, 5, and son, 1, allowed a film crew to follow them through the 25-day process, including signing legal documents and their goodbyes at Bangor International Airport on April 27.

“I agreed to do this,” Amanda, now a full-time mother, said last month. “He didn’t really want to at first. But I thought that people who didn’t understand what this is like could learn from our experience. The film captured the emotions we were going through really well. Watching it was like reliving it all over again.”

The online film “Deployment” will air at 7 p.m. Wednesday on the Web site www.intheirboots.com. Amanda hosted a preview of the show last month as a fundraiser for the Maine Troop Greeters. It was held at her parents’ church, the Prospect Harbor United Methodist Church.

“Deployment” is part of the “In Their Boots” series produced by Brave New Foundation, a small, nonprofit production company based in Culver City, Calif., according to information provided by the organization.

“In Their Boots” is an online series of 30-minute documentaries featuring stories of people affected by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Episodes are broadcast live at 7 p.m. EDT Wednesdays. A total of 26 episodes are planned to run through the end of the year. The Raymonds’ story is the seventh episode in the series. Previous episodes on topics including the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder, the quality of life for injured soldiers, and the return home and readjustment to civilian life are archived on the Web site.

Brave New Foundation is a member of and is funded by the Coalition for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans, a partnership of organizations that provide services for military personnel and their families. The coalition is funded by the California Community Foundation.

Brave New Foundation produces “socially conscious” Internet videos in an attempt to motivate and activate ordinary citizens into action, but the show is not political, according to foundation spokeswoman Alice Xiao. The goal of the “In Their Boots” series is to tell soldiers’ stories through the new media of Internet television to raise awareness of veterans and their families who may not have been properly acknowledged.

Past projects include the “Iraq War Memorial,” an online collection of video memories of those who have died in the conflict as submitted by family, friends, military colleagues and co-workers.

“Every episode begins with a ‘real story,’ a preproduced documentary piece that is shot on location by the families and by our producers,” Xiao said. “Then, it is followed by a live discussion between Jan Bender [a former Marine and Iraq War veteran] and the families who participate via webcam. We also invite experts from veterans organizations to offer advice on issues and questions from live viewers via webcam.”

The stories, she said, are told from the perspectives of people affected by deployment – American men and women in uniform, their families and veterans organizations.

“Besides the obvious reason that it is a really good story,” Xiao said, “we picked the Raymonds’ story because of its universal appeal – relatable to all military families and even to civilians not affected by deployment. We wanted to capture the Raymonds’ raw emotions – joys and tears – without sensationalizing it.”

Gary and Amanda met while both were in the Navy ROTC program at the University of Maine. They were married in 2001, the day after graduation.

She served in Public Affairs until 2005 when she left the service. He is a computer network specialist and before his deployment taught naval science in the Navy ROTC program at Maine Maritime Academy. He is deployed as a watch officer at a base in Baghdad where he monitors the military’s communication networks throughout the country. Gary is assigned to a U.S. Army unit, his wife said, because there are not enough people with his computer skills available in the Army.

Amanda’s mother, Barbara Kantorowski, 56, of Franklin, understood her daughter and son-in-law’s emotions captured in the film. She said after the preview last month that although she understands why they opened their lives up to filmmakers, it’s not something she and her husband, Loren Kantorowski, 53, would have done.

“We wouldn’t have shared it,” Barbara, whose father was a career military man, said. “We would not have felt comfortable doing that. But as a young military bride, if I’d seen a film like this, I would have felt not so alone.

“It gives one inspiration that [he or she] can carry on if a loved one is deployed. It’s encouraging.”

Loren retired in 2000 after 24 years as a ship’s mechanic in the Navy. His last shore assignment was at the naval station in Winter Harbor. He was always the first sailor on the ship and the last to leave, he said, which made his time on board about two weeks longer than other sailors.

Barbara said the Internet and cell phones have made it easier for couples to stay in touch than it was during her husband’s career, but the length of deployments is longer. Loren usually was gone for six to nine months rather than 12 to 18 months, the norm for military men and women serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Gary may be home for two weeks at Christmas, Amanda said. Once his tour is over, the couple is scheduled next summer to transfer to Colorado Springs, Colo. In the meantime, they are in touch every day via the Internet.

jharrison@bangordailynews.net

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