Video games Train Warfighters
by Cpl. Shawn C. Rhodes
Marine Corps News
March 10, 2005

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Marines are facing rocket propelled grenade attacks, improvised explosive devices, suicide bombers and many other threats found in Iraq, all from the comfort of a computer screen in an air-conditioned cubicle. A modified version of the interactive computer game Operation Flashpoint, with the assistance of some Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans, is training Marines preparing to deploy to Iraq.
http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,usmc1_031005.00.html?ESRC=recruiting.nl

Here is a Hint: In the real world, there is no "New Game" button after you get killed.

Whats the respawn time when you die in Iraq?

At least they will die a painful death and we can all laugh at them as they writhe in their last moments. American = Idiot^2

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Proves why 'military intelligence' is a contradiction in terms. Good ol' Groucho Marx said it first.

Oh wait, he was Amer

How is this different from a flight simulator? In real life, don't do what gets you killed in the game.
At least is speeds up reaction time.

And, it's just training, anyway. At least they'll get some form of a heads-up before getting into the battle zone.

maybe we should get aspiring farmers to play harvest moon before they get to the real thing? :p

no computer game can train you for teh real thing. do computer games let you reason with your enemy, surrender, or change sides.

But what a simulation does do is offer a cheap way to provide realistic settings and encourage squad co-op.
As I understand it, real War Games cost mucho dinero. Air-conditioned cubicles are much cheaper.
And, if you can reduce the battlefield to the direality of the game, all the better for the soldiers. Better way to disconnect and dehumanize your fighters.

good tactics are much more complex than just knowing where to take cover and where to send your team. any mission with a slight chance of success takes weeks of planning and practice. could i just take a gun and line it up on bush?

no, first id have to obtain his schedule, his drivers route, the specifications of the car, any roadworks durnig my planned time, the number of guards, the most concealed yet inconspicous spot, a perfect escape route.

thats just a start, and without actually being there you cant possibly perceive what can happen

So? Its not like this is the -only- thing potential soldiers do. Its not everything, but it helps.
And Roman: To fight -any- war, you need to dehumanize the enemy. It is a valid goal to strive for.

Clockwood,
I was saying videogames are a good way dehumanize our fighters. You know, get rid of the fear of bullets and wanting to stay home, safe. Disconnect them from battlefield carnage. Besides, they're training recruits. The recruits should find glory in what they're about to do, so they stay pumped. Then see how they handle the reality once they're in Iraq or wherever.
It's a sort of normalitive. You know how play gets young bears ready for adult life. So does shooting polygons. It may not be exactly the real thing, but it begins the disconnect that I believe is necessary to have efficient, powerful soldiers.

...it begins the disconnect that I believe is necessary to have efficient, powerful soldiers. .... Disconnect them from battlefield carnage.

You ain't never been in battle, have you? ...LOL! Ain't nothin' on this Earth that can "disconnect" a soldier in time of battle ....NOTHING!!

What's interesting with this topic, however, is if y'all feel that a computer game can do so much for a soldier, I'm sure it will help create, say, the next Heismann Trophy winner in football. ...or the next star basketball player. ...or the next great golfer or tennis star. Hey, ain't computers great? :)

Baron Max

Even one week of having a grizzled war veteran shout in your face at in basic will be enough to take your life -damn- seriously.

I was saying videogames are a good way dehumanize our fighters.

You are saying that also the young people that are playing basically the exact same videogame also get disconnected by violence?

good tactics are much more complex than just knowing where to take cover and where to send your team. any mission with a slight chance of success takes weeks of planning and practice. could i just take a gun and line it up on bush?

no, first id have to obtain his schedule, his drivers route, the specifications of the car, any roadworks durnig my planned time, the number of guards, the most concealed yet inconspicous spot, a perfect escape route.

thats just a start, and without actually being there you cant possibly perceive what can happen

I think thats the whole point... These are not planned missions that they are dealing with. They are walking streets and having people pop out of windows and take shots at them after hours and hours of nothing happening... The insurgents are the ones doing the planning we're the sitting ducks who need to increase our reaction times and quick thinking skills.

I played of these marine training games before. This one was for driving Hum-vees modified with missles. They were telling us how we obliterated the simulator and it was rediculously easy... Only thing that was kinda funny was that noone shot back... oO Maybe they didnt want to lower morale and figured the weapons operator couldnt do a damn thing if they got shot.

We did pretty much destroy anything that showed up within seconds but still in real life theres another person on the other side possibly as fast as you are. Also I guess the us doesnt often go up against enemies with homing antivehicle weapons.

Hopefully this will train marines on how to bunny hop and where Quad is etc. If they could get Pent+Quad then the terrorists really are in trouble!

I think the real trouble is that the Americans can't rocket jump yet. The terrorists at least try this although seem to blow themselves up a lot. I mean, if the terrorists are on the roof, just rocket jump up there? Duh.

vslayer: the US government doesn't want to TEACH ITS SOLDIERS HOW TO SWITCH SIDES. That is insane. If you were in charge of the soldiers you wouldn't want them to change sides, surrender, or most of the time reason with the enemy (it's usually better to just kill them.) Anyway, I'm sure this isn't the only training they're doing. They also train in real life with guns and blah blah blah... I mean, it teaches how to react to a small degree, and even if it can't do everything there's no harm in it and a pretty good advantage.