Thermal Monocular Saves My (Virtual) Life in Arma III

Regularly stopping and scanning my surroundings with a thermal monocular -- even behind me, where I had already been -- saved my (video game) life during a nighttime trek through the snowy mountains of Chernarus in Arma III.

If I had not detected that enemy patrol with my thermal, they would have converged right behind me and opened fire. Note how I even looked back in the general direction they were with my regular NOD's but did not detect them.

These enemies were wearing the Alpine - Ghillie variant of the CTRG Stealth Uniform*, which masks thermal signature by making soldiers wearing it appear to be the same temperature as their ambient environment. Even so, I was able to easily spot their movement with the monocular because their "ambient" temperature suits were different from the slightly warmer ground behind them.

Thermal is a game-changer. IRL, I envision a future in which every soldier is given a thermal device -- either a monocular, or a flip-to-side attachment for his rifle -- because even a relatively low-resolution thermal optic makes detecting enemies much easier. It can make the difference between life and death.

*The CTRG Stealth Uniform does not come in many variations in vanilla Arma 3. More camouflage patterns, including ghillie variants (which are more believeable for thermal signature mitigation) are available through Clasless' "Special Stealth Uniforms [SSU]" mod: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2122147403.