The House Armed Services Committee last week offered its support to the Army's controversial high-tech effort to increase awareness and knowledge of the military among recruitment-age youth. In a report accompanying the fiscal year 2010 defense authorization bill, which passed the House last Thursday, the panel commended the Army Experience Center in Philadelphia and its transportable counterpart, the Virtual Army Experience. The initiatives are examples of projects "that hold great potential to reshape recruiting techniques and conduct recruiting operations on a more cost effective basis," the report said. Critics argue the 14,500 square-foot center encourages youth to play violent videogames and in May, several groups including Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace held a protest outside the facility.

"The committee believes this type of investment is essential if the Army intends to keep pace with societal changes regarding the subjects that capture the attention of young people and methods young people use to gather information and socially interact," the House Armed Services report stated. "The committee understands that during periods when recruiting is relatively easy, investment in experimental programs draws increased scrutiny." The document urged the Army to invest in the projects to maximize their immediate value and learn more about how the military can further adapt technology to harness the power of the information age to support its recruiting mission. At the May protest, Iraq veteran Jesse Hamilton called the center "an abomination" that targets impressionable minors and glorifies war.