The Pentagon Goes to the Video Arcade - video games used as military training

Progressive, The, July, 1999 by Kara Platoni

Wrapped up in the move toward personal computer-based simulation is the idea that war in the future will be different from the wars of the past, involving fewer people and more machines, and keeping American troops safe by allowing them to do their fighting from behind a computer monitor. Experts predict that military engagements will be focused on delivering humanitarian aid, running peacekeeping or rescue missions, and dealing with terrorist groups.

People living in the San Francisco Bay Area got a sneak peek at this high-tech war of the future on March 16 when the Navy and the Marines launched a four-day mock invasion of Oakland. Six thousand troops participated in Operation Urban Warrior. In the Defense Department's imaginary scenario, U.S. troops had been called in to defend a country called "Orange," which had been invaded by a country called "Green." The purpose of Urban Warrior was to test the Armed Forces' newest technologies--everything from tracking devices to water purifiers.

As students stormed Mayor Jerry Brown's office in protest, the Oranges and Greens shot blanks at one another and dispensed humanitarian aid to a cast of civilians hired to play the wounded. Meanwhile, six huge Navy ships lay at anchor just off the coast. The flagship U.S.S. Coronado was equipped with some of the most sophisticated simulation technology available.

Stepping on board with a media pass, I found plenty of other people in civilian dress. CEOs from Hewlett Packard, Intel, and Lucent were also invited to watch the simulated war unfold. The previous day, the businessmen and high-ranking military personnel had engaged in what they sportingly called a "war game," but it was really more of a brainstorming session on how the military could buy more of their products.

A Marine Corps press release praised the "technological edge" that software companies have, and stated: "The broad purpose of the war game is to address the feasibility of large-scale Marine Corps investment in commercial off-the-shelf v technologies." As we toured the ship's command center, it became clear that the Navy and Marines have already bought plenty. "Everything you see here is commercial, off-the-shelf," says my guide, Marine Lieutenant Colonel Carl Bott, sweeping an arm at a room packed with row upon row of desktop computers.

I was disappointed to find out that I'd missed the day's biggest simulation, in which an officer shot down simulated incoming Scud missiles. But the officers in charge reassured me that monitoring the Oakland front was just as exciting. "We've been in several of these simulated situations before, and they're solid," Colonel Robert Schmidle said with a firm nod. "It's kind of like some of the flight simulators we have now. They're so realistic that you actually start sweating."

The Urban Warrior simulators allowed technical staff to control an operation happening several miles away. On the forward wall, huge screens displayed a real-time image of the Oakland battle. Each computer tracked the movement of individual soldiers, who wear acoustic sensor tags so that they can be located even inside buildings. Blue and red icons denoted either friendly or enemy vehicles. I got to use a computer mouse to click on the icons. A picture popped up showing us what kind of vehicle it was. When we clicked on a stick-figure soldier, the computer told us whether he was dead or alive.