We understand the need for the Army to attract quality young people into its ranks, those with an aptitude for military life and who are patriotic, disciplined, educated, courageous and allegiant to duty.
And we certainly appreciate the difficulty recruiters have in attracting young people with those qualities, especially when right out of high school most are presented with a range of opportunities.
So we understand the Army’s need to be inspiring and innovative in its recruiting. The dynamic “Go Army” ads that highlight the leadership and technical skills young soldiers learn, and the confidence they gain, are motivating and in our view appropriate and accurate.
But we feel queasy about the Army’s recruitment campaign featuring gigantic traveling video games. With its largest version occupying nearly 20,000 square feet, this “Virtual Army Experience” is set up at amusement parks, air shows and fairs across the country.
The game, as described by an article in the July 28 Wall Street Journal, lets people sense the Army’s ultimate mission, to kill enemies of the United States, by way of a video game that displays interactive images on three huge, connected screens.
Participants eagerly seat themselves in real combat vehicles and helicopters and are given fake automatic weapons that they use to blast away at lifelike avatars depicting enemies. Other avatars represent international aid workers. Points are awarded for killing enemies and are subtracted for killing noncombatants. The vehicles shake as simulated roadside bombs go off and the weapons realistically recoil and give off popping noises.
“I like that I got to use a gun!” one 13-year-old boy told the Journal. Army recruiters take contact information from participants who are potential recruits.
We hope we are not alone in having reservations about this recruiting method, which capitalizes on the fun of video games to draw people into the serious work of soldiering.
Killing, although it can be part of any soldier’s duty, should never be fun. Recruiters should be clear about that.
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