America’s Army has grown from its initial roots as an online PC game to a brand that encompasses console and cell phone games; the Real Heroes program that recognizes heroic Soldiers; and the Virtual Army Experience, which places players in a life-size America’s Army game.

America’s Army game brand has had an incredible impact around the world placing Soldiering front and center within popular culture and showcasing the high-tech, team-oriented and values-driven nature of the Army,” said Colonel Casey Wardynski, originator of the America’s Army game.

The America’s Army team is celebrating its fifth anniversary by releasing an all-new America’s Army website (www.americasarmy.com), rendered in the Army’s new ACU camouflage pattern and featuring new content including developer-created wallpaper that provides a sneak peek at America’s Army 3.0.

After 23 successful releases, America’s Army has opened the world of Soldiering to players and provided them with a soup to nuts virtual experience within which to explore entry level through advanced training, as well as Soldiering in small units. It has virtually taken players through boot camp, Ranger and Airborne training, and even introduced them to the Army’s “Quiet Professionals,” the elite Special Forces. Through America’s Army, players have learned about rules of engagement (ROE), lifesaving, laws of war and Army Values, the set of noble values that are the foundation of the world’s premier land force. Version 3.0 of America’s Army, which will debut in 2008, will use the new Unreal 3 engine to display even more exciting aspects of the Army.

America’s Army statistics

• Players have participated in over 200 million hours representing 3.5 billion rounds of online play exploring Soldiering as members of elite U.S. Army units.
• America’s Army has players in over 60 countries.
• More than 40 million total downloads of the game have been reported.
• Over 1,100 fan sites have registered on the game’s community website.
• Players host almost 1,200 Honor servers. These honor servers track honor points that form the basis of America’s Army unique scoring and rewards system.

The U.S. Army and Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, have established a long-term partnership to develop and publish games based on the America’s Army brand. The first game developed via this partnership was America’s Army: Rise of a Soldier on the Xbox, which allowed players to create a Soldier and take him through the adventures of an Army career. The next game, America’s Army: True Soldiers, will release exclusively for the Xbox 360 in the fall of 2007. America’s Army: True Soldiers features extensive multiplayer features for play on Xbox LIVE. The Army’s cell phone game, America’s Army: Special Operations, debuted in January 2007.

The America’s Army team launched the Real Heroes program in September 2006. The America’s Army Real Heroes program tells the stories of Soldiers who have exhibited courage under fire in the Global War on Terrorism and have received awards for valor for their actions. The America’s Army Real Heroes program inspires the American public to explore the U.S. Army's values, as well as Soldier's attributes of teamwork and personal courage, by telling heroic and personal Soldier stories through the America’s Army PC game and websites, and by offering a line of action figures.

The America’s Army Real Heroes program is featured online at www.americasarmy.com/realheroes.

This year the America’s Army game entered a new stage with the launch of the Virtual Army Experience (VAE) The VAE is a high-tech, team-based experience designed to immerse visitors in the operational roles of Soldiers in the U.S. Army. This 10,000 square-foot interactive exhibit brings America’s Army: Special Forces (Overmatch) to a life-size networked world to provide visitors with a virtual test drive of Soldiering. In the Virtual Army Experience, participants employ teamwork, leadership and high-tech equipment as they take part in a hands-on virtual mission to capture a terrorist leader.

The VAE schedule is located at http://vae.americasarmy.com/.

Building upon the dynamic and cutting-edge America’s Army game platform, the America’s Army team has created dozens of training simulations that are employed by myriad organizations around the country. The America’s Army team has produced effective and engaging virtual learning tools for Force Protection, Adaptive Thinking and Leadership, Convoy Survivability, as well as applications ranging from mission rehearsal to modeling advanced weapons systems and fire control systems. Over the next year, the team will be launching a number of applications including a Live Fire Targetry Program, which will replace static or pop-up paper or metal targets with virtual targets for interactive live-fire training.

You can read more about these applications at http://info.americasarmy.com/.