The Army sure is getting their money’s worth out of America’s Army, a first-person shoot-em-up computer game developed as an innovative new military recruitment tool.
Now the Pentagon is planning to use America’s Army’s gaming platform as a basic skills trainer on the new Common Remotely Operated Weapons Station (CROWS). And why not? Use a video game to train troops on…well, a video game. CROWS is a system that allows soldiers to manipulate a Humvee mounted variety of medium to heavy weaponary from the relative safety of inside the vehicle. It’s just one of many Pentagon solutions aimed at combating the IED and sniper threat in Iraq. And it’s already popular with the troops. “The primary purpose of the CROWS is to get the gunner out of the turret where he is exposed to enemy fire and fragmentation and get him down inside the vehicle for protection,” Sergeant First Class Sam Cottrell said of the new weapon station, “The CROWS system is an excellent tool. The advantages are obviously its optics, zoom and thermal capabilities.“
On display at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, members of the Army Games Project boasted that CROWS will also be available in the newest version of America’s Army, titled Overmatch. Players will be allowed to operate the system precisely how it was intended to be used in real-life, with a team of up to 4 soldiers using the weapon station to engaged the enemy while stationary or on the move, using daytime or thermal imaging, and employing the M-2 machine gun or MK-19 grenade launcher. True to life, gamers will even have to deploy a team member to reload the weapon ouside the vehicle.
Bad puns aside, talk about getting more bang for your buck. Not only has America’s Army become a hyper-effective recruiting device, the Army is now squeezing realistic training uses out of the game as well. I don’t know if the Army is working on any more two-for-one specials, but somebody should send the Air Force the memo.
– John Noonan
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On the point of Americas Army as a recruitment tool, I just want to say it has had a reverse effect of putting me off the military. A video game trivialises the sacrifices some soldiers face and make it clear what sort of people they want. War is not a game, video games don’t compare at all to the reality and are just realistic looking virtual versions of paintball.
As for using it as a training tool, that’s great.
It should be pretty clear that America’s Army was used as not just a marketing campaign but also a training tool. For all the talk of FCS, NCW and the like, why wouldn’t America’s Army be considered a training tool in one way, shape or form?
Also to the previous poster, do not be surprised in even 5 years from now when video games can (and will) be designed with such realism and total immersion of the player that it can be used as a viable training tool.
I agree daskro, and I — like many potential military recruits — play some modern fighting games like battlefield 2. I can’t however see much suitability in advising somebody whether soldiering is their ideal career (**not training**) in playing these games, even if there is great immersion in the virtual world. As a recruitment tool I’m completely against it because it’s nothing like the real thing and as long as it’s being used as a recruitment tool it never will be.
A better idea might be spending a few nights without sleep orienteering around the countryside, although the war in iraq might be closer to setting up your tent in the desert and reading some good books… (or playing battlefield 2 on your laptop)
This is idiotic. All US enemies, real and potential, will be training on this video game. The fact that some poor grunt needs to GET OUT of the vehicle to reload the gun will now be known to all the enemy snipers in Iraq. I only hope that this thing is loaded with disinformation.
I don’t think it’s suppose to be a life-defining decision making tool as to whether or not one is going into the military or not. It may help someone in that decision making process by getting a *simulated* idea of what combat it like. This *game* is after all the most realistic I have come across.
Games like Battlefield 2 are a JOKE when compared to America’s Army in terms of realism. It is clearly an ARCADE game and not big on realism, and therefore it shouldn’t even be mentioned as a training tool. For example, the weapon dynamics are ridiculously skewed; show me a solder (of any nation or army) who can be shot multiple times in the face by .50 CALIBER ROUNDS and still turn around to kill his attacker… A .50 cal round will do tremendous damage anywhere on the body, even with level III body armor.
So if looking for a fun arcade game go with Battlefield 2 or heck, even DOOM, but if you are looking for the most realistic (in my opinion) publicly available simulation, America’s Army is the best choice. It is also FREE unlike these other games that often retail for $50 when released.
My 2 cents…
I just wanted to say how much I appreciate sites like this being up. I’ve played the game myself and didn’t know it was being used as a training tool. It is extremely realistic. In fact, whenever I play games now, I still press the trigger lightly to be more accurate (even though that isn’t true in games such as Halo 3.). I’m doing a persuasive essay on how games train soldiers, and have found out a lot through different sites. Thanks for putting this informative page up!
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