I support all sorts of new training technologies because there is a lot of truth in "sweat lost during training reduced blood lost in battle."

Many military bases are being encroached upon by housing developments. This puts pressure to limit training activities and reduces combat effectiveness. Exercises like Red Flag and the NTC are very good but they're also very expensive and dangerous. With all of the deployments, many military personnel are finding it difficult to get the training they need both from a time and funding perspective.

Simulator technology is one means to train combat crews without bothering the neighbors or killing the troops. Look for more of this in the coming years. It doesn't have to be very costly, either. I remember reading a few years ago that Marine embassy guards were training for missions like hostage rescue using specialized versions of "first person shooter" games like Doom. The games were programmed with the floor plans of embassies around the world.

Board games and their computer equivalents are good practice grounds for theory. Putting theory to the test is best done in the simulators and in exercises like Red Flag.