The military uses computer games for everything from teaching squad tactics and treating PTSD to speaking conversational Pashto and how to conduct a counterinsurgency campaign.

FORBES: Religious Computer Game Brings Wrath Down on Pentagon

This is a dramatic shift in tactics since April 2003, when the U.S. military had no rulebook for fighting counterinsurgency warfare.

NPR: Shift in Tactics Seen as Vital to U.S. Victory in Iraq

Seven years on, there is much greater respect for the American military, its staying power, its ability to commit massive resources and readiness to rethink tactics.

ECONOMIST: Bagehot