Find Your Mission in 2008

Want to feel the adrenalin rush of engaging the enemy and defending freedom? Curious what the recoil from an M4 feels like? Want to shake the hand of a war hero? The Virtual Army Experience (VAE) hits the road for its second season, allowing you another chance to experience Soldiering. You'll join an elite team equipped with high-tech equipment and participate in an authentic virtual Army mission. New combat simulations and expanded interactive stations make this year's exhibit even better. At its first stop in Texas, attendees heard Real Heroes SGT Tommy Rieman and SGT Jason Mike share their inspiring personal stories. Last year, more than 70,000 people experienced this virtual test drive of the Army. Make it your mission to experience the VAE in 2008. Check out the latest schedule at http://vae.americasarmy.com.

From Gamer to First Responder

The America's Army team would like to introduce you to Paxton Galvanek. Like our Soldiers, Paxton exhibited the Army's values of personal courage, integrity and duty, when lives were on the line. From Manville, New Jersey, 27-year-old Galvanek became a first responder at the scene of a tragic car accident last November, employing life-saving techniques he learned by playing America's Army. Paxton credits the game's combat medic training with teaching him the critical skills he needed to evaluate and treat the victims. This is the second time an America's Army player has saved a life using skills learned playing the game. For his heroic actions, Paxton was invited to tell his story on Fox & Friends and meet America's Army Project Director, COL Casey Wardynski. Find out how Paxton Galvanek became an avid gamer and learned how to save a life. Visit http://forum.americasarmy.com/viewtopic.php?t=276444.

Just Another Day on the Job? A Day in the Life of a Soldier

America's Army brings you another step closer to the experience of Soldiering, by sharing the everyday stories of today's Soldiers. Army Soldiers are just like you and me – they work hard and play hard. Check out the personal stories of three real Soldiers to get a glimpse of how an Army Strong® career enhances opportunities and helps you live the life you want. PVT Alaniz improves his Xbox 360 gaming skills on his newly purchased plasma TV. SGT Peters spends his spare time golfing, bowling and fixing vintage cars. SSG Sperling plays with his kids at the on-post water park.

What's Going on with the AA Developers: ES2 and Beyond

AA v2.8.3 introduced a preliminary "Every Soldier is a Sensor" (ES2) feature. ES2 improves situational awareness by attributing a vital awareness indicator to your experience in your Area of Operations (AO) and collecting information through trained observation and interaction with the local population. Listen for the audio and check out the text. Situational awareness is critical for Brigades and Battalions to better understand their operating environments, often characterized by complexity and unpredictable methods used by the enemy. With future releases we'll expand ES2 and integrate it even further into a training level and more multiplayer missions. What else is going on? Well, you asked, and we listened. We like to think that no other game has a greater connection between the people who make the game and the people who play it. So we're squashing any bugs that exist in the game and focusing on the gameplaying experience by decreasing loading times and increasing frame rates. We are also addressing suggestions made by the community. Please continue to let us know via the forums, PMs and e-mails what we can do to help make this game even better. You are an important element to the process, and your feedback helps us tremendously. Look for the next release of America's Army sometime this summer!

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