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Nato King
02-15-2006, 05:12 AM
A Washington Post article contains some fascinating quotes from soldiers and military experts outlining the relationships between videogames, modern warfare, and the young soldiers who participate in both.
http://www.next-gen.biz/
http://www.next-gen.biz/images/stories/Screenshots/halo2.jpg

Fred Lewis, ret. field admiral, current head of National Training Systems Assoc.

"There's been a huge change in the way we prepare for war, and the soldiers we're training now are the children of the digital age who grew up with GameBoys. Live training on the field is still done, of course, but using simulations to train them is not only natural, it's necessary."

David Bartlett, former chief of operations at the Pentagon's Defense Modeling and Simulation Office

"When the time comes for a soldier to fire his weapon, he's ready to do that. And capable of doing that. His experience leading up to that time, through on-the-ground training and playing Halo and whatever else, enabled him to execute."

Gary W. Anderson, retired Marine col., former chief of staff of Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, current defense consultant

"Remember the days of the old Sparta, when everything they did was towards war? In many ways, the soldiers of this videogame generation have replicated that, and that's something to think about."

Sgt. Sean Crippen, National Guard

"The very first time I fired my rifle, I was scared. I had never shot my gun before at an actual person. But once I pulled the trigger, that was it, I never hesitated. All I saw was the street where the RPG [rocket-propelled grenade] came from, and I just fired in that direction, maybe 20 rounds at most, and it felt like I was playing Ghost Recon at home."

"And over there in Iraq, I think playing those games helped. It kept me on my toes. It taught me what to do and what not to do."

Spec. Alfred Trevino, National Guard

"You just try to block it out, see what you need to do, fire what you need to fire. Think to yourself, This is a game, just do it, just do it. Of course, it's not a game. The feel of the actual weapon was more of an adrenaline rush than the feel of the controller. But you're practically doing the same thing: trying to kill the other person. The goal is the same. That's the similarity. The goal is to survive."

Sgt. Sinque Swales, combat engineer

"It felt like I was in a big video game. It didn't even faze me, shooting back. It was just natural instinct. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The insurgents were firing from the other side of the bridge... We called in a helicopter for an airstrike... I couldn't believe I was seeing this. It was like Halo. It didn't even seem real, but it was real."

Sgt. Michael Stinetorf, U.S. Marine, current college freshman

"Military games just doesn't appeal to me anymore. I found the easiest way to release all the violence, to walk away from it all, is not surround myself with it."

carlbme
02-15-2006, 08:11 AM
Ehhh, being someone who's been in those situations when I was deployed I have no clue where most of these guys are coming from. The only simularity is that the goal to survive is the same, other than that, it's nothing like a game.

The feel of the weapon, the heat, the adrenaline, the whole scariest factor of being shot at, aiming, and shooting back at someone shooting you is no where near like a game.