State of mind: Army simulation tracks special operators' physical, mental reactions.

• Author: Jean, Grace
• Position: Special Operations - Cover story

In a mountainous landscape, software engineer Jason Mohr guides a virtual U.S. soldier to a narrow wooden bridge, where an Afghan leader meets him. He greets the villager and tries to negotiate passage across the bridge.

As they converse, an instructor monitors the scenario from another computer that receives Mohr's physiological and psychological states from a special wireless headset worn by the player. Red and blue lines chart escalations in his physical and mental responses as Mohr repeatedly is denied permission to cross the bridge.

Such technology is being integrated into a training simulation developed by North Carolina-based Virtual Heroes Inc., for the U.S. Army John E Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg.

The simulation--based on the "America's Army" gaming technology--already is part of the center's adaptive thinking and leadership training program, and the biometric measurement capability is being rolled out and tested there this month.

Training soldiers for special operations missions that may include negotiations and other diplomatic situations requires instructors to hone students' cognitive and interpersonal skills.

Physiological data, such as heart and respiration rates, can clue them in to emotional responses that may have an impact on their performance in real-life settings.

"Our soldiers need to be able to function in extremely high-stress environments, so any experience that we can give them to be better at that, and give them increased self-knowledge about how they tend to respond, will be more effective for them," says Maj. Edwin Deagle III, senior leadership training developer at the special warfare center and school.

In the past, negotiation training at the center was conducted through a series of lectures and practical exercises that required face-to-face interactions between students and role-players.

"The cross-cultural aspect really wasn't effectively being conveyed when we did this in classroom exercises, because you knew you were talking to sergeant so-and-so, or captain so-and-so. So we went looking for ways to enhance the training exercises," says Deagle.

Three years ago the school found a way by adapting "America's Army" to fit into its training curriculum. The resulting advanced thinking and leadership simulation immerses Special Forces in a realistic environment to test negotiation skills before meeting role-players face-to-face in mock villages during live exercises.

After completing...