Rivers & Spires hosts “Virtual Army Experience”

Clarksville, TN. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be an Army soldier, fight in a combat mission or cross into enemy territory, then you need to check out the Virtual Army Experience (VAE) coming to the 2010 Rivers & Spires Festival. The VAE is like the America’s Army computer game, and provides participants with a virtual test drive of the United States Army, with state-of-the-art Army training simulation technology to create a life-size virtual world.

The VAE highlights key Soldiers occupations, Army technologies, operating environments and missions, within a fast-paced, action-packed, information-rich experience. Participants employ teamwork, rules of engagement, leadership and high-tech equipment as they take part in a virtual U.S. Army mission. After a ‘briefing,’ participants enter the mission simulator where they cross into enemy territory and execute an operation. The experience takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Visitors enter crew stations in one of six HMMWV simulators, similar to vehicles employed by Army Special Forces, and one of two full-size replicas of UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopters. Each HMMWV and Black Hawk simulator is surrounded by large screens providing a 180-degree battlefield upon which the virtual mission is displayed. HMMWV participants use replica M4 Rifles or M249 SAW’s (Squad Automatic Weapons) that are wired to laser engagement systems similar to existing computerized marksmanship trainers. Other participants enter UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters where they use light arms and provide air coverage against enemy forces.

Holding the Guinness World Record for “Largest Traveling Game Simulator,” the VAE is 9,750 square feet and is covered by an inflatable dome that weighs over 2,700 pounds. It houses more than 35 flat screens, more than 2.5 miles of data cable, and requires more than 35 computers to run. The massive game has the equivalent computing power of an Army Stryker Battalion.

“We’re very excited to have the VAE at Rivers & Spires,” said festival director Doug Barber. “It’s hard to describe the enormity of the game. It will be one of the largest mobile units that we have placed on our streets and will definitely add an element of pizzazz that we haven’t seen before.”

Colonel Casey Wardynski is the originator of the Army Game Project. He said he “envisioned using computer game technology to provide the public a virtual soldier experience that was engaging, informative and entertaining.” In response to criticism about the authenticity of the experience, Col. Wardynski compares the VAE to other Army branding efforts, “There is only so much the Virtual Army Experience can do to depict Army life, and it does a better job than a 30-second commercial.”

The Virtual Army Experience will be located on the corner of Hiter and Commerce Streets across from the Kidz Zone. The 8^th Annual Rivers & Spires Festival, April 15-17 in downtown Clarksville, is free and open to the public. The festival features six stages of music and entertainment, arts and crafts, marketplace, food vendors, and activities for all ages. For more information, visit www.riversandspires.com.

Source: Businessclarksville