Their key recruitment strategy? The humble video game. More than 3800 US soldiers have been killed in action since the war in Iraq began more than five years ago. And as the conflict drags on with no end in sight, the US military is running desperately short of the 80,000 new recruits it needs each year. As the horrific reality of the bloody conflict deters potential recruits back home, it seems that the US Army is pinning its hopes on a video game to solve one of George Bush's biggest headaches. America's Army (www.americasarmy.com) is a key component of a drive by US forces to sell military careers to an increasingly cynical young demographic who ignore billboards and TV advertisements and who, by being plugged into the internet, fly firmly under the radar of traditional marketing. Military recruitment has huge support from the US Government. Alan: And ain't that a fact? …Controversial legislation passed in 2001 compels high schools to release contact numbers of graduating students to recruiters. Alan: Your personality profile will be in there too so they'll know exactly how to hit on you to get you in. ''…But with an estimated 73 per cent of US teenagers surfing the web at least weekly, nowhere is youth more readily accessible than in the gaming space. And with more than 8.6 million users registering to play since 2002, America's Army is successfully hitting its mark.
Dan: I never wanted to believe this. I always defended video games that they were outside of the control of that system you know but this last game – I mean parts of the game just made me sick to my stomach. Playing it triggers all of those psychopathic psychological triggers. You don't get points for staying alive. You just survive. You don't get points. You get points if you kill. It's designed this and just the effects of the game was just wild.
