U.S. Army Creates Gaming Center to Attract Recruits

[Randomus]

The U.S. Army says it has been able to meet its recruiting goals, but there seems to be some fishiness as to whether or not it's true. Regardless of what you and I think about recruiting tactics, the Army has found a new way to get people interested in possibly enlisting.

The Army's solution? Let them sit on comfortable couches and play video games!

As wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to rage on, the U.S. Army is again using video games and virtual reality as methods to try and get new recruits to enlist.

The Army is looking to create these gaming depots in major shopping malls and other locations across the country. The Franklin Mills Mall in Philadelphia has a new Army Experience Center in a 14,500-square-foot location that has a Black Hawk helicopter, Apache gunship, and a Humvee. The Philadelphia location is a $12 million, two-year experiment to see if the Army can increase recruiting numbers in the Philadelphia area.

Inside the location at Franklin Mills are 60 gaming PCs, 19 Microsoft Xbox 360s, and couches and soft drinks for visitors to enjoy while at the facility. It's also possible to participate in a virtual war zone using mock M4 assault rifles, using the Humvee as a shield while firing. Another room has a simulator in which participants can launch helicopter attacks against enemy soldiers hiding on roof tops and buildings.

The rest of the article is available over at DailyTech.

Thoughts?

[Randomus]

Am I the only one greatly scared by this kind of recruiting method? Having them play video games to try and give them a sense of what it’s like in live combat? Suuuuuuure.

I’m sure that first IED explosion is exactly like when I’m playing America’s Army or CoD 4!

I feel bad for the suckers who get roped into the Army and shipped off to Iraq and Afghanistan thinking it’s going to be like a video game. :o

[Zathros]

I couldn’t do it. However I know too many people in the service that I could not consider suckers. They have a sense of patriotism and duty that transcends politics. These people would have joined regardless. For some people it is a stepping stone to better careers. I don’t think it is that black and white. I don’t think they’re trying to “give a feel” of what live combat is like. Anybody who uses a computer knows that is impossible. I believe the percentage of people who get “roped” is probably low. It doesn’t mean that people join for the wrong reason though.

[Randomus]

Zathros: Considering Philadelphia area recruiting is too low, according to Army recruiters, this new facility was built in the City of Brotherly Love for a reason – to woo people into the offices.

A lot of my friends are in the military, and although most of them joined for the right reasons, there were a couple who were misled (and lied to) by their recruiters. Perhaps it was their fault for not double checking the “facts” told to them by the recruiters, but the Army is looking for any and all advantages to help get people to enlist right now.

I took the ASVAB when I was interested in joining the Air Force, and had multiple Army recruiters calling me at all sorts of weird hours – once at 9:00 p.m. while I was drinking with friends, with another recruiter calling me on a Saturday afternoon. I won’t even get into the BS that was promised to me by these recruiters.

The Army needs recruits, and it seems like they’ll do anything to get them.

[jhtalisman]

This is what my tax money is going for, so a bunch of college age kids can sit around the recruiting office playing video games? What a waste.

I too took the ASVAB, but for the Army. I missed 2 questions. I’m glad my youthful mischieveneous got me a few misdemeanors that I couldn’t get expunged, otherwise I’d have, if I was lucky, returned from a 4 year stint last year.

[Zathros]

I worked in Philadelphia for 2 years. I have to say that I could see why the Army would want to recruit from there. Philadelphia has a group of some very tough people. They do promise a lot, it’s tru. I had a GT rating of 120 when I checked it out. I was the first person in Connecticut to score perfect in their test in a decade. I pulled out at the last minute because they said I couldn’t fly planes because of bad eyesight. There was one other reason also, my bad hurt all the time and I did not think I could physically pull it off.
As far as college kid, I would like to see more of them in their. We need good officers.
They called me for 2 years after I decided not to go. My brother served 2 tours of duty in Vietnam and told me he felt our family had given enough. If my back wasn’t so bad I do think I would have joined and I wouldn’t have been fooled by anyone. Though I still may have come to regret it. At some point one must take responsibility for ones actions.