It seems to have become a trend to use computer games in order to train soldiers. First the U.S. Army announced that it was developing a game for that purpose and now the British Army claims that a modified version of Half-Life is proving very useful in training troops on the use of new weapons.
According to the British Army, the first person perspective of the game is ideal for training troops in the use of weapons with which they have had little practical experience. But that is not all; using the same options as those present in the popular Counterstrike mod, the Army's version also allows up to eight players to join in, giving the training officers the unique opportunity of testing new tactics. This gives troops the ability to work together as a unit and also to combat their fellow soldiers, playing as terrorists.
Major Bruce Pennell, of the army's Logistics Corps, claims the system has worked well so far. It's clear to us - particularly me as a military observer - that these guys are really engaged in what they are doing; it is not just a game played across a keyboard and a mouse. They want to succeed just as they want to in real training. he said and went on to add Obviously, being killed in the virtual world isn't quite so serious. We don't have virtual officers writing letters to the dead soldiers' virtual parents, but we'd hope the games are authentic enough to reinforce good teaching.
Chris Morris, from the technology firm QinetiQ, which is helping to develop the computer system, said that many, more unrealistic, features of the game had to be removed in order for the game to better represent real combat situations, In a standard shoot-em-up game, every time you get shot your health goes down by a few percent," he said. "The more that happens, the less healthy you become. Here, of course, one bullet and you're out of the game. he said.
The Ministry of Defense in the U.K. is currently evaluating the system and is even considering allowing troops to train on specific missions before they tackle them in Real - Life. Major Pennell however, warns You would have to make sure the environment you are modelling is as accurate as possible. What you don't want to happen is for a soldier in a real situation to run around a corner to find the door that existed in the virtual environment, only to find in the real world the door is not there.
