If you have a learner that loves online gaming, this may be a perfect fit.  We'll learn teamwork, problem solving, personal responsibility, and communication techniques - skills that can be applied to their lives as a whole.

Students in Contact: The First Hours will have the opportunity to become a member of an elite team of specialists - soldiers, scientists, and government operators who are assigned to investigate an island in the Pacific ocean which has gone dark.  All contact was lost with the inhabitants and the team must be inserted in order to determine just what it is that has happened on Tanoa - including the rescue of a trio of VIPs who must be located and brought to safety.  When on the island, the team has limited resources and must work together to find and utilize anything that might be of use so that they might successfully unravel the mystery... and survive.

We accomplish this by utilizing an online military simulation (milsim) called ARMA 3.  Each learner will play the role of a member of the team, learn a unique specialty, and then work with their teammates accomplish a difficult mission.  (Learners can be on the ground in the thick of the action and mud, dedicated to flying helicopters, driving tanks, being a medic, or even driving a boat.  It's demanding, action packed, and heart-pounding fun.  Once our team is formed and trained, I will create fully customized  missions which will challenge the team based on their strengths and weaknesses - always with an emphasis on team building, problem solving, and communication.  

A sample mission might go something like this:

1. Warning Order:  The team must consider all of their options, who should be assigned to a certain task, and the layout of the terrain based on the intelligence that I provide - it may or may not be accurate and may include overhead images, snapshots, or maps.
2.  Insertion:  The team will insert into the Tanoa island chain based on their intelligence and begin to collect information that will help them accomplish their mission.
3.  Execution:  The team will work together to accomplish a variety of missions from hostage rescue to recon, to civil affairs - working with anyone that they find to unravel the mystery of what has happened on the island.
4.  Extraction:  The team will "Get out of Dodge," hopefully with their VIPs, all of the team members, and a good story to tell.
5.  AAR - the After Action Report:  While all of the action was fun, this is perhaps the most important aspect of it all.  Here, we'll go over all that. happened, what could have been done more efficiently, what went wrong, what went REALLY wrong, and how we can do it more smoothly for the next mission.


Week One (Two Hours):  The first hour of this session will be dedicated to pure instruction... yeah, I know... boring.  (It won't be.)  We do need, however, to go through the basics of the team, our specialties, and your role on the team.  Will you be flying the helicopter?  Will you be on the ground with a rifle?  Will you be our intelligence analyst?  Will you be calling for air support?  The options are numerous, and each is great fun.  Once we have these things figured out, we'll look at some mission planning for next week, and get ready to get our feet in the dirt!  (We review the fundamentals of teamwork, communication, and flexibility in problem solving in week one, but not overtly.)

Week Two (Two Hours):  It's time to get into the fight.  We'll go over our mission plan once again so it's fresh in everyone's mind, and then jump right into the action.  We will take our time, work each problem as it comes up, and overcome.  Each operator will have a central part in our missions, so we need you sharp and on point - get some sleep the night before. (Not kidding... being tired will make this tough... it takes a lot of mental power to make split second decisions.). Post mission, we'll review and then send you off to await next week's intel packet... sometimes it comes early so you have extra time to think it over, sometimes they come right at the last minute.  (We will focus on communications this week more fully this week during the pre-mission work up, and then teamwork/problem-solving when in game.) We will also access each operator and introduce the team to our rank system - as you develop your leadership, communication, and problem solving skills, you will increase in rank and responsibility. (New ranks will be assigned, medals will be awarded.)

Week Three (Two Hours):  Time for a new mission.  With the intel that you received and looked over during the week, we'll pre-plan the mission, set up what everyone will be doing, and add a new element - aviation.  This time we'll insert into our area of operation via helicopter flown by one of your teammates.  (This is a whole new aspect of mission planning because we all know how well helicopters work... what happens if there's a malfunction?  How do you get your newly freed hostage home in this case?) Afterward, we will review and assess as per usual.  New ranks will be assigned, medals will be awarded.

Week Four (Two Hours):  New night, new mission!  Again, we'll look at your intel, pre-plan and execute the mission.  This time will be smoother because we have more experience together, but I'll be sure to throw some craziness into our time on the ground as well.  Just when you feel like you have a skill mastered... something new will pop up to challenge you both individually and as a team.  This week, we'll include aviation, land navigation at night (yikes!), and three new challenges that will surprise you.  We'll finish up with an assessment of the mission and new ranks will be assigned - medals will be awarded.

Week Next... while this course is designed as a four week duration, students may re-enroll repeatedly.  Many students will find the game play, ranking system, and pure challenge of AøR to be an experience that they wish to repeat.  Students who do repeat will maintain their rank and responsibility as they forge forward into higher and higher levels of achievement.