U.S. Navy VR ‘Strike Group’ showcases STEM careers to students
The U.S. Navy’s Strike Group visited an Early College High School to introduce students to science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) careers through immersive virtual and mixed reality experiences. The travelling programme was designed to make military career options feel more accessible, using hands-on simulations that let students test skills linked to real Navy roles.
The Strike Group experience was set up as a mobile, multi-scenario learning event. It offered students three separate challenges, each created to highlight different pathways within the Navy. Rather than relying on traditional presentations, the initiative focused on interaction and problem-solving, with students learning through gameplay and guided tasks.
Terrel Scriber, a teacher at the school and a former Marine, explained that the campus was not chosen at random. The school had to be nominated and then selected to host the Strike Group event, suggesting the programme targets locations where it believes the experience can have strong educational impact. Scriber said opportunities like this can broaden how young people think about future careers, especially for students who may not have considered the military as a route into technical work.
One of the featured challenges was called the All Hands experience. This segment used mixed reality and team-based gameplay to simulate aviation-related tasks. Students worked together to practise coordinated skills involved in operating and supporting aircraft. Activities ranged from procedures such as loading fuel to piloting missions that included flying helicopters. The aim was to mirror how teamwork and precision function in real operational environments, while keeping the experience engaging for a classroom audience.
A second challenge, known as the Dive experience, focused on a virtual mission built around the responsibilities of a Navy diver. Students took on the role of a diver in a simulated environment, working through a task-driven scenario intended to reflect the kind of concentration and technical awareness that underwater operations demand. The activity was presented as a practical way to demonstrate that STEM roles in the Navy extend beyond engineering labs and flight decks, and can include specialised missions that blend technology with physical capability.
The third component, named the Achieve challenge, was designed to help students picture themselves in Navy careers more directly. It combined a personality-style quiz with an artificial intelligence tool that produced an image of each student in a suggested role. The concept was built around personal connection, giving students a visual outcome tied to the career recommendation produced by the quiz.
Scriber said the approach helped students engage with career possibilities in a way that felt real and immediate. He indicated that the programme supported what teachers and veterans often try to communicate about military opportunities, including training, qualifications, and broader benefits. He also pointed to how these benefits may apply both during service and after leaving the military, particularly for students thinking about employable skills and future stability.
For at least some students, the experience appeared to have a clear effect. High school junior Thomas Houser said the programme shifted how he thought about his future. He described the event as eye-opening and suggested it helped him consider options he had not previously taken seriously. Houser also said that while he still had not settled on a definite plan, the experience made him more inclined to view the military as a possible direction.
The Strike Group visit reflected a broader effort to link education with career exploration using emerging technology. By bringing interactive simulations into a school setting, the Navy aimed to present STEM roles as practical, learnable, and relevant to students who may still be uncertain about what they want to do after graduation.
