Pentagon poison with MTV flavor
Army markets free 'war game' to youths
By Matthew L. Schwartz
According to a recent exclusive article in the June issue of
P.C. Gamer, a magazine directed at computer game fans, the
United States Army has begun to fund a game called "America's
Army" until 2007.
"America's Army" promises to have life-like
simulation--boot-camp training as well as proper weapon
functioning.
"The goal of the game," according to writer Daniel Morris,
is to "realistically model the weapons, tactics, and
experiences of the modern army."
This includes using weapons as they are used in real life,
as well as planning attacks.
"Weapons are all painstakingly modeled from the Army's cache
of real-world weaponry. You can expect the M16 to jam at a
realistic rate (and you can expect the AK-47 to never jam) . .
. The M209 grenade launcher fires its projectile in a lifelike
arc, with a lifelike kill radius . . . the SAW machine gun,
while a lethally precise killing instrument when set up on a
supported tripod, must be defended by riflemen when deployed in
such an exposed manner ... Night vision will be modeled so
accurately that greasy thumbprints will mar the goggle
lenses."
According to the three-page spread, the Army is not only
employing its own computer scientists with doctorates but is
also employing Interplay and, most important, Maxis to help
them develop the program. Maxis has been creating simulator
games for the past 10 years. Its most recent release was "The
Sims," in which you can create your own people. It has also
done farming simulations, as well as city simulations.
The game promises to update users every "18 to 24 months"
with new missions and plans to "follow real-world headlines 'as
closely as appropriate.' "
The system would also allow the user to receive specialized
training, such as preparation to be a sniper. After the
training the user would receive a badge and be considered a
"more valuable" player.
With all of these advanced features some think that the Army
stands to make a fortune in the "shoot 'em up" game market that
has increased in profit over the last few years.
Pentagon war is not a game
However, the Army has something much more valuable than
money in mind: It wants recruits. They, unlike the video game
figures, may very well die.
This violent simulation game is available free of charge to
anyone who asks, although the Army hopes to market the
simulation to the "key recruitment demographic of
18-to-25-year-old males."
"'We're keeping it an action game,' says Mike Capps, the
civilian contractor who heads up the development of 'America's
Army'."
It is clear that with this game's frightening accuracy, the
Army is "virtually training" its new recruits: a massive army
of children to fight Bush's endless war.
This game is not the only form of propaganda that the United
States Army is using to win over teenagers. Recently, the
military began its "Army of One" program. Adam Kranzel of
California told Workers World: "The Army of One program appeals
to many of the students I know, because it allows them to still
think of themselves as non-conformists."
Also noteworthy is the Army's version of MTV's hit series
"The Real World," creating its own webcast where viewers can
"follow a recruit" and "see if they make it."
The Army has also done mass mailings to teenage males over
the last few years, with "giveaways" such as free phone cards
and T-shirts and caps to those who called for more
information.
It is obvious that Bush's Army plans to continue this
ongoing and racist war. And it is using advanced marketing
ploys such as highly addictive personal computer games all the
way down to merchandising for an organization that was formed
with the intent to kill and suppress workers and oppressed
people around the world, while training an army of children to
do its killing.
Reprinted from the July 4, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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