Chris Ryan thinks us nerds would make good soldiers...

[Daverson]

From my experience a lot of gamers tend to do what they think/feel is right, rather than follow orders (I blame the whole "the military is a conspiracy" trope...) Despite how counter-intuitive it might be, it'd better to train someone to use a drone, who's a soldier at heart, than to try and make a soldier out of someone who's spent enough time to be the best drone pilot out there.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

Well, it'd be like playing a game on the hardest mode possible with one life.

So no.

Considering your controlling a drone, its pretty easy because you have rockets, and unless they get to you when controlling it, you have as many lives as the army has drones.

I like this idea.

Well yeah, but if you get enough of them destroyed they'll stop letting you pilot them.

 

[ShadowsofHope]

No, I still don't find killing Muslims with a remote drone in Afghanistan from an armchair to be any bit "entertaining", thank you.

Really? You and I are two very different people.

My thoughts exactly, and I don't care what religion they are, I'll kill people from an armchair. Muslims, Christians, atheists, Pastafarians...I don't discriminate. Now make with the shooty and the boomy and the brain splattery goodness.

A nice vague strawman there. I don't care what religion you are either, but I have nothing against Muslim individuals that would make me want to sign up for the military to a place in which I would be forced to inevitably kill someone I do not think deserves death.

If we are talking about the Taliban or Al Queda? Sure, but not anything more. There is more to the Middle East than just terrorist cells, as some people do not seem to realize.

 

[Dango]

This reminds me of my dad, who always says "Video games are creating a generation of some of histories top fighter pilots," Which always kinda makes me facepalm.

OT: No, since I still dislike killing in general.

 

[ShadowsofHope]

Either way, who says that they would spend all their time finding and killing people? There are plenty of people who simply run reconnaissance and whose sole job is to identify threats and ultimately keep more of our people alive.

Personally, if there's a way I can help serve my country without picking up a gun, I'm all over it.

Let's just say one thing. I don't support the current war effort. That is ultimately my reasoning, regardless of the position my skills could potentially offer.

 

[CarpathianMuffin]

Well, except for griefers of course

Multiple friendly fire incidents followed by juvenile laughing? "Why are these drones hitting our tanks!?"

The future of the military, folks!

 

[rockyoumonkeys]

No. First, I wouldn't be comfortable killing anyone, terrorist or not. Add in the fact that those drones kill as many civilians as enemies.

Not to mention that, when you're playing a video game and you miss/screw up, you just hit "restart". Doing this for real, you've at worst killed hundreds of civilians, and at best you've wasted a multi-million dollar drone.

 

[Snork Maiden]

Well, except for griefers of course

Multiple friendly fire incidents followed by juvenile laughing? "Why are these drones hitting our tanks!?"

The future of the military, folks!

Well as long as the Taliban are all ardent gamers as well it'll be all ok ^^

 

[darksakul]

Sounds like the Premise to the Virtual-On series. Giant mecha waging war via an unsuspecting populous who thinks they are playing an arcade game.

War is hell. It is not a form of entertainment whatsoever. It's likely that he just means that gamers (probably fps players in particular) have spent a good portion of their life controlling a 'drone' of sorts and therefore controlling an actual drone wouldn't be that much of a stretch in terms of the skill-set required.

Either way, who says that they would spend all their time finding and killing people? There are plenty of people who simply run reconnaissance and whose sole job is to identify threats and ultimately keep more of our people alive.

Personally, if there's a way I can help serve my country without picking up a gun, I'm all over it.

Actually Mariner has a Good point there, I was in the Military, its not as cool and glorious as alot of games make it appear to be (I.E. Medal of Honro, Call of Duty, Metal Gear, Halo ect...) War is ugly, nasty and terrible sort of affair, where people , if not physically scared, the mental ones run even deeper.

 

[CarpathianMuffin]

Well, except for griefers of course

Multiple friendly fire incidents followed by juvenile laughing? "Why are these drones hitting our tanks!?"

The future of the military, folks!

Well as long as the Taliban are all ardent gamers as well it'll be all ok ^^

Oh yes, I can imagine them playing Call of Duty while hiding out. I mean how else would they train?

 

[GBlair88]

Well there was some study recently that said gamers have the hand-eye coordination of fighter pilots. But if thats all we've got going for us then we're pretty much screwed. Still, I volunteer all those high pitched 12 year olds on X-box live. They could use the experience.

They should use 12 year old Live users as psychological warfare. The Taliban are bound to ragequit after being called noob fags a thousand times.

 

[Danzaivar]

No, I still don't find killing Muslims with a remote drone in Afghanistan from an armchair to be any bit "entertaining", thank you.

Really? You and I are two very different people.

My thoughts exactly, and I don't care what religion they are, I'll kill people from an armchair. Muslims, Christians, atheists, Pastafarians...I don't discriminate. Now make with the shooty and the boomy and the brain splattery goodness.

A nice vague strawman there. I don't care what religion you are either, but I have nothing against Muslim individuals that would make me want to sign up for the military to a place in which I would be forced to inevitably kill someone I do not think deserves death.

If we are talking about the Taliban or Al Queda? Sure, but not anything more. There is more to the Middle East than just terrorist cells, as some people do not seem to realize.

What in SimuLord's post made you want to talk about how non-racist you are? Nothing there whatsoever to imply he wants to make muslims dead (As in, muslims and only muslims).

 

[zehydra]

Well, it'd be like playing a game on the hardest mode possible with one life.

So no.

Considering your controlling a drone, its pretty easy because you have rockets, and unless they get to you when controlling it, you have as many lives as the army has drones.

I like this idea.

but if you fly it into the ground, or destroy an entire civilian town, the military's not gonna let you use it again, they'll get a better person to do it.

 

[Snork Maiden]

Well, except for griefers of course

Multiple friendly fire incidents followed by juvenile laughing? "Why are these drones hitting our tanks!?"

The future of the military, folks!

Well as long as the Taliban are all ardent gamers as well it'll be all ok ^^

Oh yes, I can imagine them playing Call of Duty while hiding out. I mean how else would they train?

I hope this is true. We'll know the validity of it when the Taliban start arming *everyone* with grenade launchers.

 

[Rusty Bucket]

When they release "America's Army II: Drone Expansion" be wary.

After all, it wouldn't be that hard to downgrade the video a drone takes to look like it was computer generated.

Then make your game have the same level of graphics, and measure performance of the players as they play. If a real mission is needed, it gets slotted to the best player currently online -- and the kicker is, you wouldn't even have to tell them it's a real one. In fact, ideally you wouldn't so that their performance wouldn't be affected by that knowledge.

You wouldn't happen to have been reading Ender's Game, would you?

 

[ecoho]

No, I still don't find killing Muslims with a remote drone in Afghanistan from an armchair to be any bit "entertaining", thank you.

Really? You and I are two very different people.

My thoughts exactly, and I don't care what religion they are, I'll kill people from an armchair. Muslims, Christians, atheists, Pastafarians...I don't discriminate. Now make with the shooty and the boomy and the brain splattery goodness.

A nice vague strawman there. I don't care what religion you are either, but I have nothing against Muslim individuals that would make me want to sign up for the military to a place in which I would be forced to inevitably kill someone I do not think deserves death.

If we are talking about the Taliban or Al Queda? Sure, but not anything more. There is more to the Middle East than just terrorist cells, as some people do not seem to realize.

ok i have to ask this do you think we hit "soft" targets on perpose? no thats what happens when people get bad intel. the brits have screwed up as have most of the UN.(not in this war that i know of. id also like to point out i respect the brits more then ANY other country save the US which is my home) Now i need to ask this, do you support our troops? (you dont have to apove the war to support our troops)