those kids Sitting in the basement playing video games may save your life someday

When I was in the NatGuard, we learned that one skill that Americans had (but not all their enemies) was the ability to drive a car. In the USSR, this was not true, so if one of their drivers got hurt, often no one could drive, but for Yanks, no problem... especially since the trucks had automatic gears and so you didn't need to learn how to shift.

And now, with the computerized battlefield, another "common" recreational skill has been found valuable on the modern battlefield: Video game expertise.

From StrategyPage:

By 2005 the army went even further when they discovered, much to the dismay of parents everywhere that experience with video games was, more and more, proving to be a lifesaving skill on the battlefield. By then many crucial military systems used video game type controllers. Troops with thousands of "wasted" hours playing video games quickly become expert at using the military gear.

the article goes on to explain the technical details of what is used, if you are interested.

and for docs, it includes this factoid:

Research confirmed that eye-hand coordination was enhanced in proportion to the hours spent playing video games. This helped with everything from operating a fire control system in a tank, ship or aircraft, to using remote control surgery gear. Yes, even surgeons who found time to play video games have an easier time using the growing number of automated gear they use.

CBS article on robots in war... and at the end of the aticle it goes into a surgeon using robots for micro surgery.

BBC article on remote control surgery and how it couldd change the future.

Australian article (Sydney Morning Herald) about how Robo Surgeons can save lives not just in Iraq but in remote areas of that country.

AlJ video here about a surgeon in Lebanon operating on a kid in Gaza.