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U.S. maintains Medal of Honor ban on military bases

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The U.S. military on Tuesday declined to lift a ban on the sale of Electronic Arts Inc.’s video game, Medal of Honor, on stores located on its bases, even though the game developer on Friday extracted any references to the Taliban in its upcoming title.

“Out of respect to those touched by the ongoing, real-life events presented as a game, Exchanges will not be carrying this product,” Maj. Gen. Bruce Casella, the commander of the U.S. Army & Air Force Exchange Service, said in a statement.

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The Exchange operates 181 retail stores on military bases worldwide.

“I expect the military families who are authorized to shop the Exchange are aware, and understanding, of the decision not to carry this particular offering,” Casella said.

The ban came last month after some decried the ability for players to assume the role of Taliban terrorists and kill U.S. and British soldiers in the game. EA last week said it deleted references to the Taliban but left the game otherwise intact.

The modification was not enough to dissuade the Army and Air Force.

‘Merchandising a product that presents depictions of American troops engaged in an active combat zone as a game could construed as inconsistent with the Exchange’s ongoing desire to treat its patrons, and their family members, with the respect their service warrants,’ said Judd Anstey, a spokesman for the Army & Air Force Exchange Service.

The game, the 14th title in the 11-year-old franchise, depicts coalition soldiers entering Afghanistan around 2001. It’s scheduled to hit store shelves Oct. 12.

— Alex Pham

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