Virtual Training, Real Battle

Live, on-the-ground battlefield preparation is difficult to come by outside of the battlefield itself. Enter UrbanSim, a prototype virtual simulation currently being used to train U.S. Army personnel in complex urban counterinsurgency and stability operations.

Simply put, UrbanSim is a computer game, said Andrew Gordon, a research associate professor at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies, which is leading the project. But it also is a tool that applies the best practices, components and developers of computer game technologies towards the Army's training needs.

Gordon said one of the key research objectives is story-driven simulation. In other words, the game is modeled on the real-world experiences of commanders on the ground. The goal? To train adaptive leaders capable of handling the primary, secondary and tertiary effects of decisions on a local environment. As an educational tool, the game instructs in civil security, information dissemination and other relevant skills.

The simulation, currently being used at the School for Command Preparation, the Command and General Staff College and numerous operational units, was developed with Army research dollars.