Info for concerned Scout Leaders and Parents
excerpts taken from COL Casey Wardynski's FAQ's on this topic

Q: How are you encouraging teamwork in this game?

A: The first part of the exercise is a short class on leadership, followed by a planning session for the scouts. They must pick their leader, and work together. Once they enter the simulation mission accomplishment, achieving game objectives and progressing in the game becomes a function of team effort.

 

Q: Should youth 13+ be exposed to what the Army does?

A: The Army is a good source of role models for leadership. The training simulation uses a natural choice of means and environment, to allow the scout to practice/develop their leadership & teamwork in a fun way.

In elementary school kids learn about the actions of the Continental Army that won our freedoms under George Washington and the Army's role in ending Hitler's oppression. Today they need to know that the US Army is engaged around the world to defeat terrorist forces bent on the destruction of America and our freedoms. The simulation also provides a virtual means to explore a variety of Soldier experiences in basic training, advanced training, and training missions in real world Army units, so that young adults can see how Army training builds and prepares Soldiers to serve in units in defense of freedom.

Q: Why are we using the America's Army video game for our Scout Leadership and Teamwork Simulation Exercise, and how is this game different from other action games in this genre?

A: … The America's Army video game emphasizes teamwork, values and responsibility as means to achieving goals. We believe that several factors make America's Army different from other games.

Training & Teamwork
First, the game mirrors the Army in terms of the progression of game play and experiences. Just as new Soldiers must complete basic and advanced training before joining Army units, players must complete training to advance to online multiplayer missions. Additionally, the Army is a team effort. Consequently, the game reinforces this emphasis on teamwork in creating online teams and through its application of realistic situations in which mission accomplishment and achieving the game objective becomes a function of team effort.

Responsible Play
Also, just as is the case with the Army, the game has a firm grounding in values. For example, the game establishes rules for engagement and imposes significant penalties for violations of these rules. Players who violate these rules or who engage in activities such as team killings, can find themselves in a virtual representation of the Army's jail at Fort Leavenworth or thrown out of the game. People will also be able to play the role of a combat medic, and the team will be awarded points for completing the mission with everyone still alive vs. other games that do not reward life. In addition, we've added Parental Controls. Parents are able to alter and control certain aspects of gameplay in America's Army. Parents can disable all the blood in the game, enable a language filter, disallow the ability to play as an Advanced Marksman, and limit gameplay to only those missions which features the MILES laser-tag type play.

Missions
America's Army also incorporates the Army's unique force-on-force training techniques and Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement Systems (MILES) into game play. When we conduct training in units we often give units opposing missions so that each can be trained within an exercise on different aspects of their missions. In the game we have improved upon this technique so that members of a team always see themselves as being U.S. Army Soldiers. In contrast members of the opposing team look like hostile forces. Hence, in reality everyone playing the America's Army game is actually playing the role of a U.S. Soldier. By incorporating MILES into the game, America's Army also provides players with insights into how the Army trains in units.

Player and Army Privacy
Finally privacy is a big concern for us. Players register under a userid and gameplay information cannot be traced to an individual's real identity. Since America's Army is an online game, it tracks game play information to monitor players' progress through training and into units. This allows the game to open assignments to the 82d Airborne Division to players who have completed Airborne School. The game puts the player in the role of a Soldier but does not incorporate expert knowledge with regard to Army tactics, techniques or procedures. All game play is conducted using the player's own tactics and procedures so as to protect the security of Army operating procedures.