A devastating flood. A powerful and destructive earthquake. A raging forest fire,
These are all disasters the National Guard trains for with the goal of saving lives.
But in Brownstown Township, Michigan at Woodhaven High School, a recent training day was focused on students serving as rescuers in a real-life disaster, using artificial intelligence to get in and out alive.
“They were just virtual disasters. Simulated as if you’re in the National Guard,” said Woodhaven High School Principal Jay Vesperman, in an interview with Military.com. “The guardsmen and woman were helpful in sharing information about recruitment, but that wasn’t the overall goal. These scenarios could have happened in real life.”
Dubbed ‘Disasterville,’ the training day was a recruitment event and disaster training in one, with members of the National Guard on hand to answer questions about signing up after graduation, while also walking students through a simulated virtual reality crisis. They used Google glasses and virtual reality (VR) headsets with AI technology to mimic life-like disasters.
“Three virtual google scenarios were set up. One on a forest fire, another in a flood, and the third involved an earthquake scenario, said Vesperman. “It was a lot of fun. Just a wonderful experience for the students.”
HOW DISASTERVILLE WORKS
“The scenes using the AI glasses were extremely realistic. The earthquake scenario had a bus flipped over and students had to crawl inside to save lives,” recalled Vesperman, who watched his students learn and have fun at the same time. “That’s always my hope, to make learning fun.”
In a news release from the Michigan Army National Guard, and sent to Military.com, ‘Disasterville’ features “immersive missions” that transform high school gyms into mission-oriented disaster zones. Students work in teams while wearing virtual reality (VR) headsets to complete specific objectives based on real-world scenarios.
“Many young Americans are unaware of the wide-ranging skills of Army National Guard soldiers and their critical role in disaster response,” said Staff Sgt. Adam Szabo, with the National Guard Bureau’s Marketing and Advertising Branch, in the statement released to Military.com. “Disasterville aims to bridge that gap by putting students in the center of the high-impact missions that National Guard Soldiers lead in communities across the country. We hope to introduce the next generation to the skills-training and real-world impact that awaits them in the Guard.”
The Army National Guard added that the experiences give students “a front-row seat to the role of National Guard personnel in disaster response as the presence of natural disasters continues to rise in communities and around the country.”
NEARBY EMERGENCY BY COINCIDENCE
But for all of the training benefits, ‘Disasterville’ at Woodhaven High School almost didn’t happen. A real-life emergency across the street from the high school cut off the school’s electricity.
“Yes, disaster struck in real life that day. A transformer fire directly across the street knocked our power out,” said Vesperman. “In my 18 years as a principal I’ve never had to send students home because of a power outage. But even though our generator kicked in, we couldn’t serve lunch, or carry out other necessary school functions, so the students and staff had to be sent home.”
But in true service to the community, the National Guard men and women agreed to come back to the high school and finish the training the next day.
“They were great,” Vesperman said. “The transformer fire was unexpected, but everyone worked hard to get the training done when our power came back on.”
For the Michigan Army National guard, the members on hand for the event were able to showcase their training and skills, while also giving the students another path to consider after graduation.
“Whatever these kids are planning to do after they graduate, whether it’s to go on to college, or go right into the workforce, this training and the national guard members we had here, gave them another option of military service,” said Vesperman. “I think it opened a lot of eyes among the students for what serving our country could look like.”
‘Disasterville’ has been on a tour of select high schools throughout February and March in Michigan, Indiana and Omaha, Nebraska.
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