VR Trains US Air Force To Tackle Suicide, Sex Crime

US Military Personnel Are Using Virtual Reality (VR) to Combat a Growing Threat Among Its Ranks

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Published: June 1, 2021

Demond Cureton

The United States Air Force (USAF) has launched a new virtual reality training programme to tackle serious concerns such as suicide and sexual assault, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

Participants were faced with immersive scenarios in the courses, complete with actors and interactive coaching, to select constructive responses to each crisis situation.

According to the report, 97 perent of the 1,000 Air Force staff joining the programme recommeded the VR exercises.

Carmen Schott, sexual assault prevention and response programme manager for the USAF Air Mobility Command, explained barriers to interventions against such problems were common, especially when personnel with higher ranks were involved.

She said: “If someone is higher rank, you might be more timid to say something. The Air Force has put a lot of effort into making clear nothing negative will happen if you intervene.”

Ms Schott added:

“Virtual reality training puts the user in a scenario, not in a classroom where you are zoning out and on your cellphone. You are an active participant. You have to be ready. I think that it is going to help airmen retain and remember knowledge. We don’t want people to feel judged. They may not make perfect decisions, but they will learn skills”

The news comes as the USAF boosts funding and implemented programmes on preventative education amid rising numbers of sexual assault and suicide, NYT added.

Figures from the US Department of Defence revealed revealed suicides of active personnel spiked from 20.4 to 25.9 out of 100,000 staff over a five-year period, from 2014 to 2019.

The shocking report also found over 7,800 cases of sexual assault against staff were recorded in 2019, a three percent increase from the previous year, the NYT added, citing Pentagon statistics.

The developments come as the US military has begun integrating VR education courses to train soldiers and personnel in numerous competencies such as combat, transport, and mental health, namely at a time where the US government aims to boost efficiency while cutting budgetary expenses, reports show.

The USAF awarded King Crow Studios a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase III contract in May, worth $6.5 million, to train B-52 pilots via a mixed reality platform.

The Louisiana-based studio launched the contract in May, which is set to last up to 2025. The training solution will aim to reduce onsite training costs, fuel expenses, and equipment downtime, among others.

The US Army also developed an Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) for soldiers using a modified Microsoft HoloLens headset, which experts believe will reach 40,000 units by the end of 2021.

Microsoft later struck a 10-year contract with the US Army in March to produce over 120,000 headsets valued at $21.88 billion, a company spokesperson told US media.

 

 

 

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