Marine aviators use online gaming concept to enhance training
29 Apr 2021 | 1st Lt. Michael Curtis 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
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CHERRY POINT, N.C. --
Before the dawn of online gaming, video games and computer games primarily featured two to four players sitting in the same room looking at the same screen while using a controller or keyboard to play a game where they either raced or battled with or against each other. Games such as Mario Kart, Goldeneye and Super Smash Brothers provided hours of entertainment and camaraderie for gamers as they competed with and against their friends and family. When online gaming came into prominence in the early 2000s, it allowed gamers to play with friends, and mostly complete strangers, from anywhere across the globe. Today, the multi-billion dollar industry connects more than 2 billion gamers across a broad spectrum of different types of games such as strategy, first person shooter, and role playing games. U.S. Marine Corps pilots stationed in Cherry Point, North Carolina have taken a piece of the concept of online gaming and used it to enhance their training.
“COPE JAVELIN,” which took place last month, was a simulation that followed a fictional operational scenario that could easily take place in the real world. Marine aviators from various unites across 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing strapped into flight simulators for different aircraft that were located at different bases across eastern North Carolina. They were able to connect across different simulation systems and work together to defend against a fictional enemy force. They communicated with each other and integrated forces in order to accomplish a mission without ever getting into the cockpit of a real aircraft. This integration of multiple simulation systems gives Marine pilots and Marine Air Control Group 28 Marines the opportunity to accomplish hard, realistic training without leaving their respective bases and saves a tremendous amount of money in fuel, ordnance, maintenance and various other costs associated with conducting this training in real time.
https://www.marines.mil/News/News-Display/Article/2589537/marine-aviators-use-online-gaming-concept-to-enhance-training/
