The IDF told Yediot Acharonot that incoming recruits
who say that they are avid players of the popular computer
game "Dungeons and Dragons" are detached from reality and are
automatically given a low security clearance, making them
unfit for elite units. The IDF does not determine whether the
game is a cause or an effect of a weak personality. It just
notes the association.
"They're detached from reality and susceptible to influence,"
the army says.
Such games were certainly forbidden by the rabbonim who
investigated the Internet and computer games.
Dungeons and Dragons (also known as "D&D") has been a popular
role-playing game for decades and is based on a fantasy
world. One player assumes the role of "Dungeon Master" who
directs the game and controls a labyrinth, while the others
select a character such as warrior, magician, dwarf and
thief.
The game focuses on the results of decisions made by the
players as determined by the roll of the dice. In some
versions of the game, players go out dressed as the
characters they assume for the game and play outside, usually
in a forest.
In Israel there are thousands of players, most between the
ages 16 to 35, and they include lawyers, high-tech workers
and businessmen. Many game enthusiasts are from the former
Soviet Union where the game is very popular.
"It's not a game of winners and losers," one enthusiast says,
"but rather entry into another world with stories and plot
changes."
One Army security official told Yediot, "One of the
tests we do, either by asking soldiers directly or through
information provided us, is to ask whether they take part in
the game (D&D)," he says. "If a soldier answers in the
affirmative, he is sent to a professional for an evaluation,
usually a psychologist."
More than half of the soldiers sent for evaluation receive
low security clearances. Once the information is on the
soldier's file, it can affect his chances of being accepted
in desirable training courses, so many who play D&D simply do
not admit to it while they are in the army.
"These people have a tendency to be influenced by external
factors which could cloud their judgment," a military
official explains. "They may be detached from reality or have
a weak personality. These elements lower a person's security
clearance, allowing him to serve in the army but not in
sensitive positions."
