The AP's Mike Branom heads down to the Defense Department's annual training and simulation conference, and finds some pretty cool stuff.
One company's virtual street battle includes a destroyed Humvee with convincing burn marks, a lifelike squad of soldiers scurrying to the rescue and a businesslike yet bitter announcement over the radio network that the vehicle's occupants are all KIA.
Lockheed Martin's Virtual Combat Convoy Trainer, used by 3,000 soldiers since coming online this fall, used maps and photographs to accurately re-create Baghdad, Fallujah and Tikrit.
"We've heard soldiers tell us, 'This is the corner where I got shot at,'" said Dan Crowley, the company's president for simulation, training and support.
I'm quoted down at the bottom of the story, as the resident curmudgeon. But I'm really not all that grumpy -- not about this, anyway. The more soldiers can hone their skills before they hit the battlefield, the better. We just shouldn't confuse joystick mojo with experience in the real world.
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