How entertainment technology is helping service members and veterans through training, deployment and rehabilitation
Graphic by Sara J. Martinez
WASHINGTON — For one soldier, something as simple as rolling the dice in a game of Risk made the difference between a good and a bad day during deployment in Afghanistan.
“It’s a stressful environment, and there are not too many outlets for fun,” said a U.S. Army veteran.. “It’s very important to be able to enjoy yourself while you are overseas at times, as a form of relaxation.”
Within months of enlisting in the Army, 9/11 changed the world and the soldier received orders to pack up for his first deployment to Afghanistan.
Back then, entertainment only got as fancy as board games. But in his two subsequent tours in Afghanistan and two more in Iraq, the military started providing more entertainment technology.
“Video games and DVDs are a lot more fun than board games,” said the veteran who asked not to be identified by name or rank. “It keeps morale up and keeps you happier. If you are there for a year, this becomes even more important.”
Critics argue that the U.S. military’s use of entertainment technology is a waste of an already tight defense budget that is facing more cuts. But researchers, medical experts and military personnel have reason to believe this type of technology serves a critical role in a soldier’s ability to prepare for military duties, maintain a healthy military lifestyle and recover from injuries sustained during service.
About 20 percent of President Obama’s fiscal year 2012 budget is intended for national defense. Of that $553 billion requested for the Department of Defense, $172 billion is projected to go toward training and readiness programs, while $12.2 billion would support scientific and technological innovation.
Part of that innovation intersects with training.
The Army’s Training Brain Enterprise develops training programs by mixing live, virtual, constructive and gaming experiences. The initiative operates under the direction of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Intelligence, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.
The Training Brain Operations Center in Newport News, Va., pulls data from more than 250 databases to create realistic training scenarios. For example, it can replicate a lifelike visualization of an enemy attack in Afghanistan just days after the incident happens in the field. By making it interactive and relevant, this technology makes it easier for trainees to understand tactics, techniques and procedures for responding to threats in theater.
Military and game experts say this effect is difficult to recreate without such technology.
Away from the bases, the military popularly used an online video game called “America’s Army” to recruit new soldiers.
“Young Americans can virtually explore soldiering in the U.S. Army like soldiers experience it,” the Army said when the game was released publicly in 2009.
It brings players through virtual basic training at Fort Benning, Ga., and virtual medic training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, to “operations in defense freedom.” They can join elite Army units along the way to understand how a soldier works individually and as a team and “experience the strength of Army teamwork, values and technology within an engaging environment,” according to an Army news release.
The game was designed to give potential recruits insight into how the Army functions and what it’s like to be a soldier while capitalizing on the popularity of video games among young people, said Skip Rizzo, a researcher at the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies.
While anyone with an Xbox can play “Full Spectrum Warrior,” Rizzo said it was originally designed as a combat training simulation and utilized by the U.S. military before it became available publicly to civilians.
The Army is taking serious gaming is going even further. The Training Brain Operations Center, along the Army Research and Development Command has developed a new massive multiplayer online trainer called the “Enhanced Dynamic Geo-Social Environment,” or EDGE. It’s similar to the popular video game “World of Warcraft.”
Officers and troops will be able to play through common scenarios, working within their units and across the Army. In a constantly updating virtual reality, Army members can “learn the most recent tactics, techniques and procedures to develop a critical understanding” of the dynamic theater awaiting them.
The Army believes its commitment to and recognition of the value of virtual and gaming environments is critical and relevant to Army doctrine.
The Army Learning Concept 2015 — a statement in Army doctrine — says that “while virtual training environments do not replace all live training, they do offer a number of advantages.” Games can simulate events that are likely in theater but can’t be reproduced in live training. They can tailor training to the participants’ experience and the time available for the practice, and they can alter conditions such as the mission’s difficulty and the stress on the player.
In war, you only have one chance to get it right. In a virtual reality training simulation, you can recreate the same threats to master the skills needed to respond quickly and accurately.
While video games are used to help save the lives of soldiers before they step foot onto the battlefield, games play an equally important role in his or her well-being during deployment and during post-deployment medical treatment.
“I believe that regardless of whether somebody is fighting a war or not, they deserve the best health care possible,” Rizzo said.
But when men and women are spending extended periods of time in war zones, the best health care might not be readily available. Then, improving living conditions or relaxation options helps soldiers maintain their mental health.
“The game industry has driven innovation that the military and civilians have leveraged for health care and other purposes,” Rizzo said.
Rizzo’s research focuses specifically on the role these systems play in training and rehabilitation of spatial abilities, attention, memory and motor abilities.
“While war sucks, it does drive innovation that has impact on civilian health care, mental health rehabilitation,” Rizzo said. “There is a long, rich history on this where you can say that (Defense Department) investments in these kinds of things has led to increase in knowledge, in practice service delivery and in health care.”