The mission of Soldiers magazine is to provide, in print format, accurate and timely information about Army operations and policies to Soldiers, their families and select members of government.

Soldiers Magazine is distributed monthly to a worldwide audience of approximately 525,000.

FEATURES:
Improving “America’s Army” 7
Continual upgrades — including better modeling, more realistic scenarios and improved user interfacing — ensure the online game’s popularity.

Leveraging “America’s Army” 10
Using the Army’s signature game as a foundation, developers have created a range of valuable training aids and simulations.

Wii Habilitation at Walter Reed 20
A successful gaming console is proving to be extremely useful as a rehabilitation and reintegration tool for wounded Soldiers.

History of Military Gaming 4
From sand tables to chessboards to miniature battlefields and computer simulation, armies have always needed to “game” warfare.

Gaming for Training 15
Soldiers at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, are using the “America’s Army” game to practice warrior tasks and battle drills.

AI and the Army 22
The Army is combining leading artificial intelligence technologies with film-industry creativity to enhance non-kinetic training.

Testing Warfighting Systems 24
The U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command ensures that Soldiers receive the best and most effective systems.

Intelligent Intelligence 28
The U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command’s Foundry Program helps elevate and sustain the skills and capabilities of militaryintelligence Soldiers.

A Dummy Named Fred 31
A high-tech simulated human — with interchangeable parts — is helping medical Soldiers hone their lifesaving skills in Iraq.

Download Soldiers Magazine, September 2008

PDF format, 6.5MB, 35Pages.

Training Soldiers With “America’s Army”
Story by Olivia Mendoza

WHO says the Army can’t be fun and games? Soldiers at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, are using the America’s Army Game at the post’s Battle Simulation Center to practice warrior tasks and battle drills.

They’ve been training on the software for three years, said Ates Bulent Sencalar, site manager for General Dynamics Information Technology. The Noncommissioned Officer Academy, 470th Military Intelligence Brigade, 228th Combat Support Hospital, and Reserve and National Guard units are among those undergoing the training.

The “America’s Army” simulator helps familiarize students with troop-leading procedures and tactical maneuvers in urban environments, allowing them to better understand how their decisions affect the whole unit, said Sgt. 1st Class Reginald Powell, an instructor for the Army Medical Department NCOA.

Powell and some 140 Basic NCO-Course students recently trained on the “America’s Army” simulator. Through the video game, Soldiers get to practice what they’ve learned in the classroom. “‘America’s Army’ gives them visual ‘boots on the ground,’” said Sencalar.

The scenario begins with a squad of six to nine Soldiers in a simulated Iraqi village. Their mission is to conduct a dismounted patrol, clear buildings and secure the area of weapons left behind by insurgents.

In the game, as in the Army, the Soldiers’ collective goal is to accomplish a mission as a team and adhere to the Army’s core values. The software also gives Soldiers a chance to prepare for a follow-on field training exercise at nearby Camp Bullis.

“This is a great training method, because it gives us an idea of what to expect and what we need to improve on,” said Sgt. Hilda Cabrera, a former BNCOC student.

“The students really enjoy the simulation, because it’s like a game for them. At the same time, they know they must take the “game” seriously. “If they don’t, and they’re careless and perform improperly, a sniper, bomb or improvised explosive device could take them out,” said Powell.

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