14 DAY TRIAL // The debate over the Virtual Army Experience, a recruitment drive masquerading as a high tech showcase for the Army experience, has moved to the floor of Congress, with Dennis Kucinich, a Democrat representative from Ohio and long time enemy of the VAE, calling for it to be closed down.
Kucinich stated in front of the full House of Congress, as reported by GamePolitics, that “Children as young as 13-years-old are participating in the Virtual Army Experience, which paints an inaccurate picture of war by glorifying it while sanitizing the real effects. More than a mere video game, it includes interactions with real veterans, who appear to be in perfect health. It also requires that the user, regardless of age, share personal information as a condition of participation.”
The official position, as stated by Democrat Ike Skelton, is that the Virtual Army Experience is and will still be supported by Congress, but that the institution will also be looking at how it can be improved so that the youngest children cannot be influenced by it. Of course, part of the point of the entire traveling Army show is to impact those who could become recruits.
It's clear that videogames and virtual experiences are an easy way to reach the young adults of today. The United States Army has just released America's Army 3, a simulator of military life, which aims to deliver an experience very similar to that of the real life army, complete with carefully simulated weaponry and with scenarios based on possible real life situations.
Although not stated explicitly, the concept behind this game and its two forerunners is to get people interested in Army life and asking for more information at a recruitment center. The British Army is also running a similar program.
Here's an actual intervention from Dennis Kucinich: