Virtual Reality Is Great, But Only If It Works for Troops in Zombieland
Today’s military service members often are referred to as “integrated weapons platforms” and “systems.” In squads, they are “integrated combat platforms.” Army infantry members are being “modernized” by a cross-functional team dedicated to improving their “lethality.”
There’s one possible bug in the ointment: Our warfighters are humans. Reducing them to platforms and weapons systems does them and the nation a disservice. They are highly skilled experts at multitasking in extreme conditions with muscle memory and split-decision-making honed through hard-earned experience. Their lessons learned are in the form of casualties, not numbers of defects or cycle times. Especially as we arm them with smarter technology and artificial intelligence, we cannot overlook their human insights, their ethical perspective, and their expertise.
But our sons and daughters in uniform, especially those who are deployed, don’t necessarily need their equipment to be the latest and most advanced. They need devices that deliver information and decision support they can easily and effectively use in the high-stress, high-stakes missions we send them on. Out in Zombieland, sleek and immersive pale in comparison to simple and effective.
See the full story here: https://www.govexec.com/defense/2019/12/virtual-reality-great-only-if-it-works-troops-zombieland/161620/