LARAMIE, Wyo. — Wyoming National Guardsmen Dustin Scott, Nathan Harvey and Jeremiah Eaton were about nine months into a yearlong deployment last December when they heard about GI Jams, a new Web site that allows soldiers to upload songs and lets listeners download them.

The trio had been spending their free time jamming in front of friends, and they jumped at the chance to upload their music for friends and family back home in Laramie and Rawlins.

On Christmas Eve, they gathered in their tent, huddled in front of a laptop computer, gave themselves a name and recorded “Cowboy Soldiers,” about longing for small comforts while serving in the hot desert. The song — it’s stick-in-your-head catchy and melancholy at the same time — was an instant hit on the fledgling site, securing the top spot and spawning a music video.

“It’s something very simple, but there’s something very human and direct about it. It’s very special in that way,” said Denny Randell, a long-time songwriter and producer who launched GI Jams in November with his partner, Biddy Schippers.

The Joe Speed Band — named in honor of Eaton’s grandfather — is a manifestation of the friendship between three soldiers that has carried them through two deployments together. With that initial upload a few months ago, they found an audience back home. Now they’re dreaming about the chance to continue making music in their post-desert days.

Scott and Harvey grew up in Laramie, attending elementary school together. They enlisted in the Wyoming National Guard together after high school and found out they were being deployed with the 133rd Engineering Company, leaving on New Year’s Eve 2004.

The duo became a trio when they met Eaton during that deployment. Born in Casper, he grew up writing songs and playing the guitar, often on his grandfather’s front porch in Texas. He joined the Guard in 2002, in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Back in Wyoming in late 2005, they went their separate ways for a few years. Eaton volunteered for a second deployment, and Scott and Harvey joined him.

“I talked to Nathan about it and we both came to the conclusion that Jeremiah would not go it alone,” Scott said via e-mail from Iraq.

In between convoy-escort missions, they honed their sound together: “No recording studios, no fancy equipment, just sand, sweat and free time,” Scott said.

“We started to get serious with our music at the beginning of this tour and have been playing hard ever since,” Harvey said.

Meanwhile, Eaton’s wife, Donna, gave birth to their first child, Hunter; Scott reunited with his childhood friend, Hanni Soderberg, over the Internet; Christmas approached.

“It was his first Christmas ever being away from family, and it was also our first Christmas together,” Soderberg said.

That was when the soldiers heard about GI Jams — a way to connect with everyone back home.

“Initially, they just did it so that we could hear it, not thinking that it would go anywhere,” Soderberg said. “It’s impossible to explain how it feels having such a huge piece of my heart so far away, but being able to hear his voice in the songs anytime I want to has really kept me strong.”

Schippers, the GI Jams co-creator, said the project was a way to support troops and raise morale.

The fact that the Joe Speed Band recorded its music while on active duty makes the group even more inspiring, Randell said.

“These guys are actually there on the front line, but there’s a certain very human and humorous quality to it,” he said. “People hear it and they realize that these guys are over there fighting for us, but they’re also talking to us and sending us this song.”

Active and former soldiers from any branch can upload music to the site, while listeners can create a fan page to highlight their favorites. Shippers said there are several hundred members right now. Songs are for sale for $0.99 each, with all the proceeds going directly to the artists.

The three Wyoming soldiers said they have many more songs in the works, and they can’t wait to return to the U.S. to record with upgraded equipment.

“We love to make people smile, and that’s what it’s all about for us. As long as we’re doing that and having fun, we’ll continue on as long as we can,” Harvey said.