Virtual Army Experience hits Sheppard Published Oct. 13, 2009 By Airman 1st Class Valerie Hosea 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- The Virtual Army Experience showed the Sheppard community what "the real Army" is about during the 2009 Sheppard Air Force Base Open House Air Show Oct. 10 and 11. "The Virtual Army Experience gives the audience a first-hand view of the different dynamics of what the Army does," said Sergeant Jason Mike, 20th Special Forces Group. "It clears up most misconceptions while educating the public about Army jobs, duties and missions. There's more to it than just infantry." The Experience is based off "America's Army", a series of popular video games available free in different formats. "First we have participants go through the registration line where they're issued their IDs," Sergeant Mike said. The virtual soldiers received photo ID cards with barcodes holding their personal information such as addresses and driver's license numbers. While the next step isn't a part of the game, it is still very significant. "Then they have a chance to play America's Army with Army recruiters and Soldiers to answer any questions people may have about the Army. This also gets the word out about what soldiers do," he said. After the question and answer session, an Army sergeant briefs the participants about their mission and includes a discussion and a short video. "Our mission is to deliver supplies to stranded workers while clearing the area of enemy forces," Sergeant Mike said. After the briefing, the Army sergeant leads the group to the simulator room, where they operated one of seven different simulators including one helicopter and six humvees. The Virtual Army Experience even conducts an after action review simulation. The virtual soldiers' performance is then assessed and the "soldier" with the highest score from each group is awarded an autographed action figure of one of the Silver Star award recipients.