The reason given by the soldier was that he didn't want to be cut off from his family and and wanted to be in touch with his daughter on her birthday.
Cool reason bro, if only there were options other than normal phonecalls and SMS.
It isn't like we have invented WiFi and Discord/Matrix/Email/FaceTime/hundreds of other communication platforms.
I am also quite certain that there are other sanctioned ways of staying in touch with your friends and family, even if not ideal for the person in question.