A very interesting read (http://warontherocks.com/2013/10/is-it-like-call-of-duty/)
QuoteThomas Gibbons-Neff
October 2, 2013 ยท in Commentary and Analysis
I have a memory from a firefight in 2008. It's blurred around the edges and foggy at parts, but there is a distinct sequence in which I bring the optic to my eye and fire at a man's head. From there the memory fades out. Some say his head exploded in a pink splash, and others say the light machine gun next to me killed him, but I don't think anyone really knows.
This event has stuck with me because for some reason it has attached itself to a question that I'm asked surprisingly frequently when my experiences in Afghanistan come up.
"Is it like Call of Duty?"
I attended a charity event with a friend of mine who had lost both his legs in Sangin, Afghanistan, and after an hour of schmoozing he was descended on by a group of six-year-olds who, after realizing he had lost his appendages in some sort of explosion, proceeded to ask what his favorite weapon was in Call of Duty and if shooting people in real life was the same as in video games. I stared in horror at their parents who sat unfazed in the background, but my friend just smiled and proceeded to placate the kids with some anecdote.
This question isn't limited to six-year-olds, mind you. Last week I was asked the same thing by a twenty-something after my French class.
go read the rest
I can understand how a child under 10 years of age could ask a question like that, but to hear that the parents of those children are unfazed is contemptible.
Hmmm.
I just finished Sledge's With the Old Breed. Not sure Call of Duty is capable of that level of immersion.
The only exposure I have had to real life shooting combat is the training I did at Ft. Jackson before I did my IA.
Towards the end we were broke into teams of about 5 guys and we had to get from one end of this mock-up village to another in full battle gear and M-16s, etc. The idea is that if you were in a Humvee that got ambushed, roadside bombed, whatever, you might have to hole up in the nearest village for a bit.
Anyway, we're going through the drill like they taught us, covering one another, using techniques to clear corners and rooms and such, and I remember thinking, "Wow, this is just like Call of Duty!" I almost posted a thread about it.
I realize what I did, and what those guys in Afghanistan did is like apples and oranges, but anyway, there it is.
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