Naval Sim Damage Control Trainer Wins NTSA Award

Alion and Raytheon BBN Technologies have received the 2010 National Training and Simulation Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Modeling and Simulation in the "Training" category for the Navy recruit game Damage Control Trainer. Damage Control Trainer, previously honored as the winner of the Serious Games Challenge in the Business category at I/ITSEC 2009, teaches Navy recruits how to navigate a ship, follow communication protocols, and perform damage control operations throughout several included true-to-life disaster scenarios. Alion representatives, citing a recent study conducted at the University of Central Florida, note that Damage Control Trainer users exhibited improved performance in many key areas after spending one hour with the application. "This second award for the Damage Control Trainer reinforces our belief that a well-designed game can provide measurable results in the real world," said Rear Adm. Richard Brooks, Alion Senior Vice President and Manager of the Distributed Solutions Group. "Designing an effective game requires more than exciting graphics. It has to engage the user while teaching skills in such a way that those lessons are retained. The Damage Control Trainer is helping prepare recruits for real-life situations, and that can mean much lower risk to both the sailors and the fleet."