Brigadier General Harold J Greene only has to look around his house to realise the challenges the Army faces in engaging young soldiers. His children, he says, are always “buried in a cellphone or an iPad.”
Greene, a senior official in the Army’s research and development engineering command, is among a cadre of high-ranking officials pushing for the military to embrace technologies that are already popular among consumers, like smartphones, video games and virtual worlds. The goal is to provide engaging training tools for soldiers who have grown up using sophisticated consumer electronics and are eager to incorporate them into their routine.
At a time of shrinking budgets, these tools are viewed as relatively inexpensive supplements to larger, costlier training equipment while also providing a surprisingly realistic training experience.
The military is already using some video games for recruitment and to train soldiers, and it has started experimenting with virtual worlds, as well. The tools are developed specifically for military use.
In addition, the Army recently held a contest for soldiers to determine who could develop the best smartphone app.
Among the apps now available on an Army website: bugle calls, body fat calculator, Army creeds, sniper awareness and capture avoidance.
“We have to adapt to where they are,” Greene said, speaking of the need to appeal to young soldiers and teach them in ways, and on devices, they are accustomed to. “This is something we absolutely have to do.”
But efforts to vastly expand the use of virtual games and everyday electronics have run into a slew of obstacles, not the least of which is a military bureaucracy slow to embrace change.
For now, the budget for video games and smartphones for military training is a relative pittance. For instance, the Army spends roughly $10 million to $20 million a year on licenses, modifications and development of Army games.
Still, the Army recently conducted a pilot project that provided some soldiers with smartphones.
©2011 The New York
Times News Service
