A ‘Sim’ That’s Dead Serious
Army Using Interactive Video to Train
By Jose Antonio Vargas
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 13, 2005

It’s a collection of 260 video clips on two CDs that, in essence, serve as an interactive film of the Iraq war. It represents a small shift in how the military girds its leaders. It’s divided into three phases: pre-deployment (How do you say goodbye to your spouse?); rolling into combat (Do you leave a broken-down ammo truck on the side of the road?); and transition to a post conflict environment (Do you involve the local interpreter in your planning?). There are different possible outcomes for most of the scenarios: Take this road instead of that one, for example, and you’ll lose precious time. For today’s technologically savvy U.S. captain — versed in video games, instant messaging, e-mail — Gator Six is an ideal “sim,” militaryspeak for simulation.