“Teenager’s Dream” Used in Army Training

Wired’s Danger Room columnist recently took a trip to the Association of the U.S. Army conference held in Washington D.C. to get a look at the latest and greatest gadgets that contractors are developing for America’s armed forces.

Among the items was a videogame, dubbed Call of Duty: Afghanistan by Wired, which allows trainees to work on a variety of skills, including maneuvering and leadership tactics.

The scene in question features a model of Afghanistan’s Ganjgak Valley with participants taking part in “key leader engagement training,” or military personnel interviewing local dignitaries as they attempt to mine information.

U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command’s Mark Covey, who was named by Fast Company as one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business for 2010, described the simulation stating, “They are learning about the area of operation they are preparing to go to. At the same time, they are also learning how to do small arms tactics in this type of environment.”

The leader, be it a company commander or platoon leader, can also come into the training and be afforded a “God’s eye view,” which allows them to monitor how well their charges are performing in the simulation. An “after action review capability” allows the leaders and field personnel to gather and critique the mission.

The technology was described as “a relatively cheap piece of equipment,” as “it’s nothing more than a desktop computer tied to three different monitors.”