U.S. Army Launches America's Army: Special Forces for PCPosted on Thursday, November 06, 2003 @ 02:34:51 pm E.S.T
Highlighting some of the Army’s elite fighting units,
the U.S. Army today unveiled the America’s Army: Special Forces action PC game. This
latest release in the America’s Army game series focuses on the critical, specialized role of
the Army’s Special Forces within the U.S. Army as they fight the Global War on Terrorism.
In America’s Army: Special Forces, players virtually explore the development and
employment of Special Forces Soldiers. To be released in a series, the first portion is titled
America’s Army: Special Forces (Special Forces Assessment and Selection) and available
now with six new single-player and multiplayer missions. The second installment, America’s
Army: Special Forces (Qualification Course), will be released in Spring 2004. America’s
Army: Special Forces builds upon the incredibly popular America’s Army: Operations game
released in 2002 continuing player progression and expanding gameplay from the original
game allowing players to explore the highly professional world of Special Forces Soldiers.
“The America’s Army game is an extremely popular vehicle allowing young people to
explore Soldiering in today’s U.S. Army,” said Col. Casey Wardynski, originator and
director of the America’s Army game project. “America’s Army is a realistic reflection of
the Army, its Soldiers and their missions. America’s Army: Special Forces showcases the
Army’s elite and highly skilled Special Forces Soldiers, who are an integral force fighting the
Global War on Terrorism.”
The Army’s Special Forces, including the Green Berets, are more than 8,000 strong and a
foundation of the United States’ Unconventional Warfare capability. These Soldiers, known
as the Army’s “quiet professionals,” complete a rigorous screening process known as Special
Forces Assessment and Selection prior to advancing to years of specialized language,
medical, information technology, weapons and unconventional warfare training within the
Special Forces Qualification Course (Q-Course). As a result of this process, Special Forces
Soldiers are specially trained and equipped to conduct extended operations in extremely
remote and hostile territory. They train to perform unique missions including Foreign
Internal Defense (FID), Unconventional Warfare (UW), Special Reconnaissance (SR), Direct
Action (DA), Combating Terrorism (CBT) as well as other special operations as directed by
U.S. national command authorities.
“Due to recent actions in the Global War on Terrorism, there is great public interest in the
role of Special Forces,” said Maj. Christopher Chambers, the project’s deputy director who
deployed to Afghanistan and served with elements of the 20th Special Forces Group as part
of research for the Special Forces version of America’s Army. “The Soldiers in Special
Forces units are a reflection of the Army within which they serve. They are courageous,
intelligent, resourceful and dedicated individuals. Special Forces units are compact and
multi-faceted. Special Forces 10-man detachments are microcosms of larger Army fighting
teams: including medical, information technology/communications, intelligence, engineering
and weapons experts. America’s Army players will gain insights on the roles played by these
elite Soldiers and perspectives into the ways Soldiers with a wide range of expertise combine
to make the Army the world’s premier land force.”
By allowing players to virtually assume the role of Special Forces Soldiers, the America’s
Army game provides a unique inside perspective on the world of these elite Green Berets. In
future releases of America’s Army: Special Forces players will expand their exploration of
the dynamic roles and opportunities afforded to Special Forces Soldiers. New game
experiences will include High Altitude, Low-Opening (HALO) parachute insertion
techniques and overmatch capabilities that enable Special Forces detachments to defeat
hostile forces of much larger size.
America’s Army: Special Forces Game Description
America’s Army: Special Forces players progress toward the goal of wearing the coveted
Green Beret by completing progressive individual and collective training missions drawn
from the Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS) process. Players must first pass
all training missions contained in the existing America’s Army: Operations game series to
advance to America’s Army: Special Forces. In the SFAS process, players learn about the
unique capabilities of a Special Forces A-Team (Operational Detachment Alpha) including
its missions, activities, equipment, skills and responsibilities. Other training includes
identification of vehicles, aircraft and weapons to distinguish friend from foe on the
battlefield, as well as field training in an escape and evasion exercise. Successful completion
of these SFAS courses -- along with an in-game Honor rating of 15 -- satisfies the eligibility
prerequisites for players to participate in new multiplayer missions as a Green Beret.
America’s Army: Special Forces players who meet the SFAS prerequisites can play as part of
a Special Forces A-Team. Other players can play as a member of indigenious forces
operating in concert wth Army Special Forces. In this way, the Game parallels the unique
foreign internal defense role of Special Forces in which Green Berets operate alongside
indigenous forces in other countries.
America’s Army: Special Forces (SFAS) missions include a Combat Search And Rescue
(CSAR) of a pilot from a downed helicopter, a hospital rescue of a wounded Resistance
leader in a populated urban area, a nighttime reconnaissance mission to identify enemy
aviation, and a new version of the America’s Army: Operations pipeline map which allows
players to take advantage of the new Special Forces equipment within one of America’s
Army’s most popular scenarios.
Special Forces commanders view this game as a great tool to communicate with America
about their Soldiers. “With the worldwide deployment of Special Forces fighting the Global
War on Terrorism, there is a great demand for more Soldiers with this specialized expertise,”
said Brig.Gen. David Burford, deputy commanding general of the United States Army
Special Forces Command, whose units participated in the development of the game.
“The game’s developers went out of their way to ensure all of the Special Forces details were
exact,” said Maj. Randy Zeegers, 20th Special Forces Group. “We think that this realistic
view may open the eyes of young Americans so that they know what it takes to pursue a
career in Special Forces, which is especially important now that we are engaged in a Global
War on Terrorism.”
This coming Spring, after successfully completing SFAS, players will move on to the Special
Forces Qualification Course (Q-Course) to explore new Special Forces roles and gain access
to new systems and capabilities unique to the Green Berets. Initially, players will be able to
explore the role of the 18B - Weapons Specialist. In the Spring of 2004 they will be able to
assume the role of an 18D –Medic (Emergency Medical Technician), 18C - Engineer, 18E –
Communications Sergeant and 18F – Intelligence Sergeant.
Realism in Development
The America’s Army: Special Forces game features high-resolution, extremely detailed
character models that accurately portray Special Forces Soldiers – everything from their
uniforms down to their gear, weapons, and even sunglasses. In addition, new animations have
been digitally rendered from motion capture footage of actual Special Forces Soldiers.
To create the realistic levels presented in America’s Army: Special Forces, developers
worked directly with Green Berets. The Deputy Director of the Army Game Project, Maj.
Christopher Chambers, participated in combat operations in Afghanistan with elements of the
elite 20th Special Forces Group headquartered in Birmingham, Ala. Capt. Jason Amerine, an
A-Team commander who fought alongside the indigenous forces of Afghanistan, also guided
development of America’s Army: Special Forces from its inception. Soldiers ranging from
the commander of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School to the cadre of
the Special Forces’ Robin Sage training exercise at Fort Bragg, N.C., also provided their
expertise and support to ensure that America’s Army: Special Forces provides a realistic
virtual exposure to the development and employment of Special Forces Soldiers.
Additionally, the developers used Combat Camera reference materials recorded by Soldiers
on the front lines of the Global War On Terrorism.
About America’s Army
America’s Army was designed and developed so that young Americans could explore
Soldiering in the U.S. Army through the virtual portal of online game technology. Through
this virtual experience, young Americans can advance through progressive experiences
ranging from basic training at Fort Benning, Ga., to Special Forces Assessment and Selection
at Fort Bragg, N.C. Along the way, they can join various elite Army units and experience the
power of Army teamwork, values and technology within an engaging format.
The game has become an online phenomenon, consistently ranking among the most popular
PC action games played online. Since its public release on July 4, 2002, more than 1.4
million players completed their virtual exploration of the basic training portion of the game
and progressed to complete more than 280 million missions logging over 28 million hours of
gameplay. America’s Army and America’s Army: Special Forces are rated T for Teen and
are available as free CDs at local Army Recruiting stations, ROTC Detachments and Army
events, and can also be downloaded from various partners listed on the
www.americasarmy.com site.
The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs sponsors the Army
Game Project. As executive agent, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Human
Resources provides strategic direction to the America’s Army project. The U.S. Army's
Office of Economic & Manpower Analysis at the United States Military Academy manages
the Project. The faculty, staff and students of the MOVES Institute at the Naval Postgraduate
School in Monterey, Calif. (movesinstitute.org) develop America’s Army.
About the U.S. Army
Through the teamwork efforts of the more than 1.2 million Soldiers in the active Army, Army
National Guard and Army Reserve, the U.S. Army is the world's relevant and ready land
force. Today's Army Soldiers are on the frontline in the ongoing Global War on Terrorism in
missions like OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM and OPERATION ENDURING
FREEDOM, and joint-service missions for the Department of Defense. The Army will be
229 years old June 14. For more information on the Army, go to www.goarmy.com or
www.army.mil. Posted By: Adam Paoli - 573 Reads
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