Today’s young
gamers are tomorrow’s soldiers. The equipment on a modern battle field is
already much like a video game. In the near future there will be even more game
like equipment. The skills that young people develop while playing video games
are necessary to operate the technologically advanced military equipment. Good
hand eye coordination and a general familiarity with the controls are extremely
important.
One of the most
well known remote control vehicle in the world is the Predator family of
unmanned aerial vehicles or UAV for short. It is flown by two operators in
comfortable chairs. Each operator has two large monitors and two smaller touch
screens. The Predator is operated by a variety of controls, including two
joysticks and a keyboard. It would take someone a long time to learn how to fly
one if they have never played a video game. Skilled gamers learn very fast.
The Air Force
isn’t the only branch with remote controlled vehicles. The Multifunction
Utility/Logistics Equipment or MULE for short is a six wheeled remote controlled
ground vehicle. The operator walks along side the vehicle with a game controller
that is only missing the bright colors or wirelessly using a screen to see. It
comes in the variations. There is a transport model for carrying supplies. The
Armed Robotic Vehicle Assault has antitank weaponry and the Countermine version
clears mines.
The brigade
combat team soldier of
the future will
be connected to Unified Battle Command and sensor data via the network. This
connectivity provides the soldier increased intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance capability while both mounted and dismounted. There is a screen
attached to the soldier’s helmet to provide information to him much like combat
based video games do now. A video camera can even be mounted to the soldier’s
rifle so that he can shoot without exposing himself to the enemy.
The high tech battlefield of tomorrow will require the same skills
that video games develop. Today’s youth are developing their coordination and
multi-tasking skills every time they turn on their PlayStations. Playing video
games now is training for the future.