Computer game reflects Army values

Local recruiter uses game to reach youth

By JOHN DAVIDSON-Frontiersman reporter

PALMER -- Loyalty. Duty. Integrity. Respect. These are not the kinds of values one would expect a combat video game to impart to young players.

Yet this is precisely the purpose of America's Army, a team-based combat computer game designed by the U.S. Army for use in recruitment and training.

Saturday morning at the Job Corps Center in Palmer, the game drew more than 20 students for a tournament hosted by Sgt. Jay DeFillipo, a U.S. Army recruiter.

"Most kids play games where everyone blows each other up," DeFillipo said. "This game is meant to teach people what the Army is really like; it teaches teamwork, communication, leadership and the other Army core values."

Although at first it may look like any other first-person combat game, America's Army has an internal logic most games lack. Players are bound by the laws of land warfare and are expected to play by the rules.

Toward this end, the game's scoring system is based on standard U.S. Army rules of engagement. A player gets plus or minus "R.O.E. points" for either following or violating the rules.

Successfully accomplishing a mission depends on teamwork and adhering to a set of values and norms of conduct; players can't go around shooting at their teammates or blowing up random buildings and expect to win.

Players must earn their skills, too. Unlike other combat games, in which a player can find a medical kit and just pick it up to gain health, in America's Army, a player must go through medic training in order to help a wounded teammate or heal himself.

Here, too, the game's internal value system comes into play. When a player is wounded he can't simply heal himself, he has to call and wait for the teammate who is trained as a medic. If the medic doesn't respond to his teammate's call for help, he loses R.O.E. points and jeopardizes the mission.

As one member of a four-man unit, players can choose realistic roles, including weapons specialist, intelligence officer, engineer or combat medic. Each member of the team has to do his part for the mission to succeed.

The latest version of the game is America's Army: Special Forces, in which players attempt to earn Green Beret status by completing training missions. Only players who complete the proper training may take on a Special Forces role in missions that are increasingly designed to reflect realities in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The new game is incorporating situations on the ground," DeFillipo said. "It has taken on a life of its own. The toughest part is convincing people it's not just about blood and gore; it's an effective tool to show people Army values and what the Army is about."

Although suicide bombers and roadside explosives have not yet become part of the game, the new missions are set in Third World countries, DeFillipo said, and the enemies are depicted as terrorists, not enemy soldiers.

Saturday at Job Corps in Palmer, the first contest of the tournament was set on the North Slope, where a group of terrorists had taken control of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline with the goal of creating an environmental disaster.

The game is designed so that each team -- one assault, the other defense -- sees the opposing team as terrorists, complete with black ski masks and paramilitary uniforms.

One student at the games Saturday was Josh Fox, a 16-year-old from Wasilla who has been at Job Corps for a couple of months and plans to join the Army when he gets older. He says the quality of the game depends on who is playing it; if you take it seriously and play by the rules, you can learn a lot.

"I love the game," Fox said. "But I'm pretty militaristic. If I had the choice I'd go for SEALs or Special Forces. And I'd love to go into combat. I would go to Iraq, no question."

And Fox will be encouraged to join the Army at Job Corps. John Douglas, community liaison for the Alaska Job Corps Center, said the U.S. military happens to be one of three national focuses for placement this year at Job Corps. The other focuses for placement are Homeland Security and health services.

Douglas said the Army has always been a big part of the Job Corps Center community, but this year there is more of an emphasis.

That emphasis has been reflected both nationally and locally. According to the U.S. Army Recruiting Command's Web site, last fiscal year there were approximately 130 recruits from the Mat-Su and 77,587 nationwide, nearly 10 percent over the Army's goal.

Although those numbers have tapered off in recent months, DeFillipo expects a resurgence now that the election is over.

"While the campaigns were on, there was doubt and uncertainty," DeFillipo said. "A lot of people wanted to wait until after the election because there was such a difference in policy. I think the Army will be less of a political issue now; the focus will be to complete the mission and come home."

Contact John Davidson at john.davidson@frontiersman.com.