Virtual Army Experience - The Experience

The Experience

Once a team of visitors gathers in the “Assembly Area,” uniformed members of the VAE staff guide visitors to the “Joint Operations Center.” In the center visitors meet former soldiers, employees of marketing firm Ignited Minds, who serve as their team leaders. These employees give visitors an intelligence briefing video and talk about the upcoming virtual mission. This briefing also covers teamwork, Army rules of engagement, and proper use of equipment within the simulator. Videos prepare visitors to enter a virtual combat operation by providing them with on-the-ground intelligence about their upcoming mission. Following this briefing, visitors move to the “Mission Simulator.” Working as a team, participants complete a civilian evacuation operation.

Upon completion, participants move to the After Action Review area where they receive a debriefing on their performances. Real soldiers and Ignited employees review their team’s performance during the mission and highlight areas such as teamwork or communication where visitors could have performed better. Team Leaders also emphasize the role Army values, such as duty, respect and honor, play in mission accomplishment.

To add an air authenticity to the experience, visitors at select locations are introduced to a soldier who has distinguished himself in combat and earned citations for bravery and valor. This soldier briefly shares his or her experiences with visitors, after which visitors watch a short video that re-enacts the soldier’s heroic acts in combat. In some cases, visitors applaud and want their photo taken with these soldiers.

According to Sergeant Tommy Rieman, “people have a general perception about the army before they enter (the VAE) and when they leave they have a greater appreciation.”

Some veterans complain that the experience is misleading - that it trivializes their real combat experience. Critics say the Army's videogames don't give an accurate portrayal of war and Army life. "War is not a game," said Sholom Keller, national membership coordinator for Iraq Veterans Against the War, who said he served in the Army from 2001 to 2005 and fought in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has found that Army use of the game, and its recruiting practice in general, violate international law. In May, the ACLU published a report that found the armed services "regularly target children under 17 for military recruitment. Department of Defense instructions to its recruiters and the US military's collection of information of hundreds of thousands of 16-year-olds, and the military training corps for children as young as 11, all reveal that students are targeted for recruitment as early as possible. By exposing children under 17 to military recruitment, the United States military violates the Optional Protocol." The Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, ratified by the Senate in December 2002, protects the rights of children under 16 from military recruitment and deployment to war.

Prior to exiting, visitors receive a free copy of the America’s Army PC game so, if desired, they can join the game's online community and continue to explore the Army at home by playing the game.

Private corporations like Ubisoft reap handsome profits from the Army's project to train and recruit children. Military game developers are very open about this role, as Colonel Wardynski proudly proclaims, "We want kids to come into the Army and feel like they've already been there."

In response to criticism about the authenticity of the experience, Col. Wardynski compares the VAE to other Army branding efforts: “There is only so much the Virtual Army Experience can do to depict Army life, and it does a better job than a 30-second commercial.”