Gamers Decode Army Values in America's Army

After a grueling eight hours of virtual close-quarters combat on America's Army it came down to an undefeated team of four pitted against a team from the consolation bracket in a double elimination tournament. Yet for all the experience the "A-Team" picked up getting to the finals, the gamers failed to communicate when it counted the most - committing fratricide twice.

The A-Team lost bragging rights and settled for second place among 26 teams who competed in an America's Army gaming tournament Jan. 29. The Milwaukee Recruiting Company hosted the event at the Army Strong Zone, an Army recruiting mall storefront in Greenfield, Wis.

"We tried to stick together and talk to each other but at some point we just miscommunicated," said Benjamin Martinez, a Hamilton High School senior. "The other team couldn't have been much better. They were in the (consolation) bracket."

Adam Morton-Gunderson, a Union Grove High School senior, from the winning team disagrees. His team lost a match halfway through the tournament and was dropped down to the consolation bracket. But they learned from their mistakes and overconfidence and regained momentum to face off Martinez and his squad in the final round.

"We worked together and made a plan of who would go where and what weapon we would each have," said Morton-Gunderson.

It's no surprise that the strategy implemented by Morton-Gunderson's team resulted in victory. The game is designed to award those who follow the Army Values and work as a team. Morton-Gunderson's team made a mistake early enough to learn from it, said Rob Lee, a technical integrator for U.S. Army Recruiting Command. Lee provided recruiters training in the setup and operation of a local area network game tournament.

"I can watch at a team play and tell whether it has a chance of reaching the finals," Lee said. "The best teams are the ones that are communicating with each other and work as a group. When you have teams that operate as individuals, they eventually get eliminated from the competition."

Good teams know where their buddies are and quickly heal each other when they're injured instead of suffering a loss. That keeps a team surviving longer than those who don't, he said.

The game features are intended to relate the Army Values into a winning strategy. Those who understand this are the ones who typically make it to the winner's circle, Lee said.

At the tournament, more than half of all players noted they had previously played the game online. Yet for Morton-Gunderson, playing against an opponent across a table made the experience intense.

"This was more realistic than online playing. And we got to win something in the end," said Morton-Gunderson.

Recruiters towered over game play to enforce rules, keep the pace moving, and maintain the integrity of the game, said Staff Sgt. Nicholas Dimiceli, Milwaukee Company recruiter.

The winners took home iPods. The second place team received hats and t-shirts. All gamers won the privilege of meeting real-life Soldiers and being one virtually.