The US Army has historically used a number of recruitment tools in order to grow in numbers and according to a report, it was planning to spend millions in an effort to reach gamers, WWE fans, and more. With US Army enlistments on the decline, the organization is looking at new ways to reach a younger demographic, specifically noting Gen-Z gamers as a target audience.
Vice has acquired some US Army documents through the Freedom of Information Act that reveals some details about recruitment methods. Recruitment officers have historically been deployed in various US cities in order to increase the volume of soldiers available at the US Army's disposal for conflicts abroad by reaching out to people directly. Because the US Army is often involved with the creation of many popular games and movies, it may not be a stretch for them to look at other potential avenues of growth like its notorious Twitch account, as well as esports and WWE events.
The recovered US Army documents from Vice detail plans for 2021 and 2022 in which the organization stated intentions to reach younger audiences through esports tournaments, popular Twitch streamers, Paramount Plus, and more. According to the documents, the US Army has been looking to increase its diversity with minorities and women between the ages of 18 and 24. Based on its internal logic, $6.9 million was to be spent on drawing a young audience that's interested in war games like Battlefield 2042 or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 into enlisting for the real deal.
Until Activision Blizzard was accused of fostering a harmful work environment last year, the US Army intended to spend a chunk of its money on Call of Duty League events, but that has been paused for now. The US Army also has an esports team of its own. Beyond this range of methods for US Army branding, the report also suggested that Call of Duty Mobile ads could be altered to reward players with in-game currency for watching US Army ads, something that never came to fruition.
Responding to Vice questions regarding the US Army spending for recruitment, a spokesperson stated that they "must meet the youth where they are," suggesting that the best place to target them is online. While some gamers remain critical of the US Army's tactics despite the fact that some of the ones highlighted in the report weren't acted upon, others continue to keep an eye on its esports team.
Source: Vice