Gamers claim they are as proficient as Soldiers due to their gaming ability on Call of Duty. Comments?

2015-03-17T10:33:49-04:00

If a civilian would tell you as a soldier that they had the same training soldiers have because they play video games all day like cod. What would your reaction be? I see post like this all over the place and I just laugh knowing that this guy would crap his pants if he has been down range without our training.

Response by TSgt Joshua Copeland made Mar 17 at 2015 10:36 AM

2015-03-17T10:36:32-04:00

I invite them to participate in a FTX with full gear. see how well that does.

Response by CPT Zachary Brooks made Mar 17 at 2015 10:43 AM

2015-03-17T10:43:38-04:00

If life were that arcadey it would be much more fun.

As someone who is/was a pro gamer, this is laughable.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Mar 17 at 2015 10:45 AM

2015-03-17T10:45:05-04:00

Chesty Puller's Ghost!?!

So... I took my son to the range once, for a basic fire arms safety class and to get a feel for the noise.

While there, I pumped a few (about 50~) rounds down range.

My son is an avid gamer, but he has never been stupid enough to claim he's anywhere near as proficient as me, and I've been out a LONG time.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 17 at 2015 10:46 AM

2015-03-17T10:46:40-04:00

As a recruiter...oh yes! I've offered to put them in boots since they are clearly qualified and it should be a walk in the park. I've not had too many take me up on that

Response by SSG Alphonso Aiello made Mar 17 at 2015 10:49 AM

2015-03-17T10:49:14-04:00

I say the branches should allow us old timers the option to train with active duty/ national guardt/ reserves to give them our insight and past experience because now that most of us are getting out the army is loosing out. Although we trained our Soldiers most of them are getting out or forced out so everything we learned or taught them has been forgotten.

Response by CPT Zachary Brooks made Mar 17 at 2015 12:19 PM

2015-03-17T12:19:02-04:00

Have them talk to us again after they implement this into their gaming:

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/11/24/new-gaming-controller-literally-drains-your-blood

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 17 at 2015 12:36 PM

2015-03-17T12:36:35-04:00

Are you implying all this time I've spent playing video games since 2004 hasn't kept my skills at the cutting edge of constant training and effort? How dare you...

Response by PV2 Phillip Price made Mar 18 at 2015 5:00 PM

2015-03-18T17:00:36-04:00

I'm a gamer and a veteran and nothing prepares you to sit and wait for 250000 artillery rounds to land in area 1 south Korea let alone a game that glorifies killing in a way that doesn't hit you like the real thing you turn of a game and forget the enemy but when you come home from deployment it comes home with you I can never forget

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 22 at 2015 12:25 AM

2015-03-22T00:25:11-04:00

I was in a combat MOS 8 years ago and I have awesome gamer sk1llz. That makes me pretty freaking ninja.

Response by PO1 Cleve Ikaika Waiwaiole made Mar 22 at 2015 2:29 AM

2015-03-22T02:29:57-04:00

He'd crap his pants run away like a coward, and let his brothers die behind him. That's what separates civilian from our brothers in the service.

Cheers

Response by CH (MAJ) William Beaver made Mar 22 at 2015 4:30 AM

2015-03-22T04:30:39-04:00

Board gamers like my friends who play chess and Risk alot seem to be quite excellent strategic thinkers. There is at least something to 'gaming ' although if the game requires more strategic thought and planning, I think the game is more helpful.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 22 at 2015 4:38 AM

2015-03-22T04:38:37-04:00

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 22 at 2015 4:51 AM

2015-03-22T04:51:56-04:00

Just shake my head.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 22 at 2015 5:35 AM

2015-03-22T05:35:28-04:00

I remember many years ago I was stationed with a fellow who was a former SEAL trainee. He told me once a hilarious story about a buddy of his.

Once during a challenging exercise, the instructors asked his buddy why he wanted to become a SEAL. His buddy said that he beat every level at every SOCOM: US Navy Seals games and now wanted to become one in real life.

Needless to say that due to severe 'beating' that followed, his buddy was no longer part of the training. The end.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 22 at 2015 5:51 AM

2015-03-22T05:51:14-04:00

I'll put it this way; Just because I'm great at playing the board game "Operation" does not qualify me to perform surgery on anyone...

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 22 at 2015 6:00 AM

2015-03-22T06:00:24-04:00

I don't recall seeing a respawn point in Afghanistan.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 22 at 2015 6:30 AM

2015-03-22T06:30:10-04:00

One game where I could see a benefit for learning things like movement techniques, communication, and a couple other basic Soldiering tasks is Battlefield. But COD? Nope. And no game, simulation, or any other scenario fully prepares someone for the real thing. Things like NTC, which despite the groans it makes a lot of Soldiers feel when they hear it, is pretty effective, but still falls short in that there is no way to make the mind switch from "this is fake" to "this is real". At the end of the day, they know they're coming home. In a real life situation, that doesn't exist as a guarantee. No amount of simulation can make that point a reality besides actually being there.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 22 at 2015 6:57 AM

2015-03-22T06:57:01-04:00

Tell them to pound sand.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 22 at 2015 7:49 AM

2015-03-22T07:49:56-04:00

there's no respawning when you die.

Response by MAJ Jim Steven made Mar 22 at 2015 8:00 AM

2015-03-22T08:00:43-04:00

I will put it this way....you sit down to play a videogame to relax, right??
I don't believe anyone deployed to OEF/OIF to relax and have fun....

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Mar 22 at 2015 9:21 AM

2015-03-22T09:21:18-04:00

Well, in reference to the drone career fields...

Response by CPL Brendan Hayes made Mar 22 at 2015 9:28 AM

2015-03-22T09:28:19-04:00

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made Mar 22 at 2015 10:06 AM

2015-03-22T10:06:49-04:00

All this goes out the window then the first round splats on the wall / tree next to you.

Response by SGT Jim Z. made Mar 22 at 2015 10:17 AM

2015-03-22T10:17:02-04:00

Umm...no that is not how it works video games are that games not real life though they have come a long way since I was a kid they still are not real. These kids need to stop living in a fantasy world and start concentrating on real life tasks.

Response by SGT John Wesley made Mar 22 at 2015 10:53 AM

2015-03-22T10:53:52-04:00

Sitting in front of a monitor with chips and Mt.Dew does not constitute a warrior. Not to say that they have there place in things like Drones and remote EOD devices

Response by Cpl Christopher Sturdevant made Mar 22 at 2015 10:59 AM

2015-03-22T10:59:21-04:00

That's stupid too. One thing I've often laughed about in CoD is that you're playing as an elite soldier, but you can't sprint longer than 30-50m at a time?

Response by PO1 Derrick Miller made Mar 22 at 2015 10:43 PM

2015-03-22T22:43:10-04:00

They might be proficient at operating drones, but playing Madden makes me no more a professional hand-egger than Halo would make me combat ready

Response by SSgt Dan Montague made Mar 24 at 2015 5:52 PM

2015-03-24T17:52:30-04:00

I always shut them down by explaining that in combat you don't re-spawn when your killed, or don't have unlimited supplies. In combat when your buddy takes a head shot and collapses, you can't joke about it with him over your little cool head set then wait for him to re-spawn.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 24 at 2015 6:44 PM

2015-03-24T18:44:26-04:00

Just like never having gone thru Airborne but have the tattoos of the wings, they still get jump pay right?

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 1 at 2015 6:23 PM

2015-06-01T18:23:47-04:00

. . . No Comment

Response by SSG John Erny made Jun 1 at 2015 6:26 PM

2015-06-01T18:26:35-04:00

I let a gamer shoot my AR-15 Rock River Operator. He, he starts pulling the trigger as fast as he can until all the rounds were spent. : -/

Response by CH (MAJ) William Beaver made Jun 1 at 2015 6:31 PM

2015-06-01T18:31:39-04:00

Oh yeah! I'm a basketball stud because I play EA Sports NBA basketball.

Response by PFC Tuan Trang made Jun 1 at 2015 6:31 PM

2015-06-01T18:31:54-04:00

Just because you're a best shooter in cod doesn't mean you're training as me or good than me.

Response by SGT Anthony Rossi made Jun 1 at 2015 6:32 PM

2015-06-01T18:32:40-04:00

Maybe we should start issuing drivers license to 9 year olds. There great at super Mario cart.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Jun 1 at 2015 6:52 PM

2015-06-01T18:52:52-04:00

How many times have you died in your game? More than zero? How many chances do you expect in real life?

Response by SGT Edward Perez made Jun 1 at 2015 7:12 PM

2015-06-01T19:12:41-04:00

I dont buy it. There's gamers, then you got Pvt Snuffy the gamers. Who is, actually badazz.
Shoot civies that claim they can do what we do or did. Outside of their homes, brother they ALL and i say ALL, have one thing in common. They are very lazy. Rather they be skinny or fat, they are lazy! They may possess some of the mental capabilities and familiar with military jargon but they dont possess the ability to share their very being to die for the person next to them. They do relize there is NO reset button in a live fire. Some maybe able to do it, but most No way.

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Jun 1 at 2015 7:28 PM

2015-06-01T19:28:33-04:00

I play GTA5 so therefore I would make a great criminal.

Response by Sgt Cody Dumont made Jun 1 at 2015 7:30 PM

2015-06-01T19:30:41-04:00

Tell the run for 3 blocks and see how effective they are.

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Jun 1 at 2015 7:31 PM

2015-06-01T19:31:45-04:00

Let me take them to a motorpool around most people's going home time around 1700 hours. We will open shipping containers and inventory everything! lol

Response by SFC Stephen King made Jun 1 at 2015 7:36 PM

2015-06-01T19:36:19-04:00

Game on.

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 1 at 2015 7:45 PM

2015-06-01T19:45:35-04:00

See, I'd just fall over laughing.....

Response by SFC Maury Gonzalez made Jun 1 at 2015 7:55 PM

2015-06-01T19:55:04-04:00

It takes a special kind of stupid to believe that

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Jun 2 at 2015 4:15 AM

2015-06-02T04:15:11-04:00

There is no 'Control+Alt +Delete' on any battlefield I know off.

Response by SrA Edward Vong made Jun 2 at 2015 8:47 AM

2015-06-02T08:47:24-04:00

I do agree that playing some games can help with better hand eye coordination, but it won't make them better on the battlefield.

Putting that aside, Call of Duty is one of the most unrealistic first person shooters on the market, I doubt having a kill-streak in real life combat would award you an airstrike which would come at your aid within seconds of calling it. Or a tactical Nuke for that matter. If one wants to claim they know how to be just as tactical as a soldier, they should bring up a slightly more realistic game such as ArmA, and even then there is still much training you need to know.

I will say though, I fly planes as a hobby, and a flight simulator does indeed help me understand the basics of flight controls, instruments, and how a plane operates.

Response by SGT Kevin Brown made Jun 2 at 2015 8:51 AM

2015-06-02T08:51:09-04:00

I like Call of Duty and all but you cannot just press "Jump" to restart in real life.

Response by CPL Pappy Groves made Jun 2 at 2015 8:54 AM

2015-06-02T08:54:48-04:00

That is such a Bogus statement! I tell the younger guys I work with all the time, "Holding a Rifle and trying to hit a moving Target is far different than holding a Controler and trying to hit a moving Target! Plus.... Real Bullets coming at you feels completely different than an on screen characters fake bullets coming at your avatar!"

Response by SrA Matthew Knight made Jun 4 at 2015 11:43 PM

2015-06-04T23:43:59-04:00

"Here's an M4 and a magazine with dummy rounds. Load it."

Then the moment they either inevitably hit the forward assist with the bolt already forward none the less or worse, try to pull it (some games animations do that), I am going to laugh and take it away.

Response by SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 28 at 2015 12:05 PM

2015-06-28T12:05:37-04:00

So far playing paintball and laser tag with hardcore non-service member gamers has yielded amusing results.

Response by MSG David Chappell made Jun 28 at 2015 12:14 PM

2015-06-28T12:14:44-04:00

It's true call of duty is just like the real thing lmao

Response by SSgt Charles Edwards made Jun 28 at 2015 12:16 PM

2015-06-28T12:16:41-04:00

All it takes is a live bullet to whiz by a gamer's head before he wets his pants. A video game is not the same thing. Hell, I dominate NCAA Football and Madden on Xbox, but you don't see me applying for a head coaching job. Some people today are a special kind of stupid.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 28 at 2015 1:32 PM

2015-06-28T13:32:39-04:00

Can you get PTSD from a video game?

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jun 28 at 2015 1:55 PM

2015-06-28T13:55:50-04:00

Take your ass to the recruiting station since your military acumen is so great. Gamers are in their own world that they are boss over. They also think by simple extrapolation they are the boss of the battlefield. It sounds like the entitled generation.

Response by SSG Trevor S. made Aug 12 at 2015 11:39 AM

2015-08-12T11:39:20-04:00

I rarely see posts with those kind of comments. When I do I just laugh. The poor guy might get drafted one day. Maybe the "training" will come in handy.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 13 at 2015 11:16 PM

2015-09-13T23:16:13-04:00

They might have a point looking through the sights on these new games might give you an edge in real life. Most military training is done by PowerPoint and all you learn in the field is how to be homeless.