Using games to defend our nation

Reading this article shouldn't amaze me. I mean ... that's what the world's come to? I'm sure elder generations wouldn't approve of such approaches to recruiting new Army members, but the AEC is living proof that somehow this approach works.

Though personally, I believe that such approaches should be studied carefully (descriptive), I truly hold the belief that the repercussions will be devastating after returning from war of any kind. I feel that though videogames may prepare and tempt people into joining the army, they're still just ... games.

They don't prepare you for post-traumatic stress disorder, or any other psychological problems that come with facing battle, death, and destruction. Though the Recruiting center believes they're not forcing people, they're surely fooling innocent teenagers into believing war is nothing but "us v. them" - and as soon as the war's over, you can settle into a normal lifestyle upon return.

A prescriptive measure should be taken upon this theory, and those being recruited should be given opportunities to be aware that these games don't tell the full truth in terms of how veterans are affected post-war. Translating the impacts of war and such cultures through videogames is nearly impossible, which is where the idea of incommensurability comes in. The idea that Professor Boellstorff mentioned in terms of data/theory/method surely comes into play and can be seen in this article in that perhaps this videogame exercise is a theory that actually yields a legitimate method to recruit, and generate a surplus of recruits which in turn would yield perhaps reasonable data.

The results of the videogames, and the ability of the Army to recruit members through such methods is perhaps based solely on participant observation, however, I feel that a deeper analysis and understanding of the repurcussions of war should be researched, and that the theory shouldn't be taken for granted. But we'll see where this goes, shall we? :)