Military recruits Gen Z by way of online gaming

The military is having a more difficult time recruiting men and women to serve in the military, due to COVID-19, so they have looked to online methods of recruitment, according to The Washington Times.

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, recruiters relied heavily on face-to-face meetings, school visits and job fairs to entice America's youth to join the forces, The Washington Times reported. Now, recruiters are forced to look to new methods to encourage military enrollment.

"We looked at all the different ways we can go out to reach all parts of America," former Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper told the Heritage Foundation. "How do we go out and find these young Americans who would be interested in service but just don't know that the opportunity exists?" 

The military is adapting to youth culture with new ways of attempting to recruit young Americans to the forces, including by having active recruits who engage in online gaming reach out to military hopefuls.

"If we are going to be successful in recruiting, then we need to be where young people are, and they are operating in the digital world," said retired Army Maj. Gen. Frank Muth, who recently stepped down as head of U.S. Army Recruiting Command.