U.S. Army To Begin Second Life Recruitment

The U.S. Army will soon unfurl its sticky recruiting tendrils in Second Life's virtual world.

While the army says its meeting recruitment goals this year, that's not stopping the old red, white, and blue from trying every trick in the book (and then some) to find new blood. Its latest recruitment scheme includes setting up a virtual base in Second Life.

"Over the next 30 to 45 days you might, if you're one of them Second Life avatar dudes that likes to go populate islands within Second Life, you will find an Army island in Second Life," said Gen. William S. Wallace in a recent presentation at the 26th Army Science Conference. Wallace, commander of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, noted there will be two army installations in the virtual realm. One island will serve as a welcome center to provide recruitment contact information, and the other will hold activities like parachuting, weapon usage, and rappelling down towers.

Performing well in the virtual military activities will earn recruits points that can be used to buy virtual clothing like shirts and baseball caps, said Wallace. Tchotchkes will also be given out for recruits to wear. "There are about four million young people that routinely interface in Second Life," he said. "(That's) the age group of the young people who we're trying to encourage to join the military."

Beware what you ask for, U.S. Army. Second Life tends to attract users with peculiar tastes.

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Calling it now. Theyll be signing up furry betallions & their island will come under attack from an army of goosestepping penis'.

Thank god i don't have second life. I get enough trouble from them in real life. Even though they know I'm too underweight to join.

I reckon if the U.S. Army wants to start recruiting more people, it should be handing out free copies of ArmA: Armed Assault at their recruiting stations, not advertising on a very strange MMO-style game, with users which are probably unfit for the military in many cases anyway.

I think it's disgusting what measures the american army takes into action in order to get more recruits. I realize that they need recruits, but the way they pray on young kids and suck them in and ship them off to Iraq

I have never played second life, what do you mean the people are

RAK:
stange

Oh lord...they may as well put ads at 4chan -_-

If they HAVE to do online game advertising, do playstation home, I see socom posters all over that thing anyway.

Shouldn't Second Life be called First Life or just Life? I mean, these people can't have had lives to begin with :/

They're gonna get furries, vores and gun-nuts of the worst kind. I wish it was possible to follow up on this because it can be nothing short of hillarious.

ElArabDeMagnifico:
Oh lord...they may as well put ads at 4chan -_-

If they HAVE to do online game advertising, do playstation home, I see socom posters all over that thing anyway.

Well that might cause those boards to clean up a little bit.

lol that wacky military, what will they try to do next to trick us into killing ourselves?

well I guess something has to get ride of all the retards.

Furries, Vores, Deviants, Basement Dwellers and 13 year old girls most of which will get thrown out of basic; I can't see how the US Military sees this as a viable investment. Not to mention the fact that Second Life isn't US only so what are they going to do if a non-citizen tries to hang out on their island. Finally Second Life gets routinely screwed over thanks to allowing people to script from within it.

I think that the army should be clear about their gameplay policies: the complete lack of quicksave and quickload options in their games.

Gen. William S. Wallace :
..if you're one of them Second Life avatar dudes...

It seems to me that Mr. Wallace has no idea what he's talking about. I'd like to point out that us upstanding Americans have nothing to do with the Army's stupid decisions. Also, is it just me or would the type of gamers that play Second Life never join the military?

Is the US military that desperate? How can you guys fight a war with this stuff going on?

They will never get anybody out of second life...

I heard a while ago they were thinking of offering non-US residents the chance to join the US military, with the promise of citizenship if they survive the war on Ira... er.. Terror. Whatever happened to that?

The U.S. army is about to get trolled and raided. It will happen, there is nothing stopping it.

Seriously, Second Life? I think we all know the people who use Second Life aren't exactly the military type.

Guys...I think I've got it.

They don't want fighters or mechanics or whatever....THIS IS A CLEANSING PROGRAM! THEY ARE TRYING TO ERADICATE US SECOND LIFE USERS! Don't you see?! Of course the second life'ers are incompetent fighters! They'll kill THEMSELVES!

hmmm well, they got a taste of gaming before... now they want the whole cake

I dunno, if the Furfags want to go to war god bless them- i'm not.

I'm all for opening up the military to Emo's, Goths, Furfags, and 4chan'ers of all types. Serving their country will mitigate how goddamn annoying they are.

How would this be more effective than the plethora of war games that are already present?
I guess its a matter of audience, but... Somehow it seems a little redundant.

Erana:
How would this be more effective than the plethora of war games that are already present?
I guess its a matter of audience, but... Somehow it seems a little redundant.

That's precisely why they're trying out SL. If they recruit retarded COD4'ers or Gears of War bullies, then the US Army will get beaten in combat, because their soldiers are all retards. If they however, tap the pool of creative and intelligent users of SL, then who knows, maybe it can place back the intelligence in "army intelligence" this time around.

niko79:

Erana:
How would this be more effective than the plethora of war games that are already present?
I guess its a matter of audience, but... Somehow it seems a little redundant.

That's precisely why they're trying out SL. If they recruit retarded COD4'ers or Gears of War bullies, then the US Army will get beaten in combat, because their soldiers are all retards. If they however, tap the pool of creative and intelligent users of SL, then who knows, maybe it can place back the intelligence in "army intelligence" this time around.

I hope you're joking with this comment, because your average Second Life player is just about as inappropriate as you can get for the military. The COD4 and GeOW players aren't much better, admittedly, but I don't see a Second Life player being very appropriate for infantry combat, somehow.

RAKtheUndead:

niko79:

Erana:
How would this be more effective than the plethora of war games that are already present?
I guess its a matter of audience, but... Somehow it seems a little redundant.

That's precisely why they're trying out SL. If they recruit retarded COD4'ers or Gears of War bullies, then the US Army will get beaten in combat, because their soldiers are all retards. If they however, tap the pool of creative and intelligent users of SL, then who knows, maybe it can place back the intelligence in "army intelligence" this time around.

I hope you're joking with this comment, because your average Second Life player is just about as inappropriate as you can get for the military. The COD4 and GeOW players aren't much better, admittedly, but I don't see a Second Life player being very appropriate for infantry combat, somehow.

I don`t know if you realize this... but all AA wants is fresh met for the grinder, they don`t need rocket scientists... besides someone with a decent IQ may realize the futility of it all and start asking the embracing questions...

Dommyboy:
The U.S. army is about to get trolled and raided. It will happen, there is nothing stopping it.

Hell yes. I'm gonna have to pay a visit to any such sims myself, just to see what I can get out of it, and possible orbit as many people as possible.

Considering how often and how fervently the army pesters me to join you'd think I was fucking captain america

Uskis:
I think it's disgusting what measures the american army takes into action in order to get more recruits. I realize that they need recruits, but the way they pray on young kids and suck them in and ship them off to Iraq

Every military preys on young people. It's much easier to turn an 18-year-old into a front-line soldier than to turn a 25-year-old recruit into a front-line soldier. The whole reason we have all those international laws against child soldiers is that, yes, 15-year-olds make desirable recruits, too. It's a mindset thing.

-- Alex

BTW, I just have to add these observations. The average age of the Second Life user is 35. So basically this is a case of "wrong audience" and "wrong reasons" ...And RAK, you have the wrong notion of the average SL user--most people think it's the fat, cheetos eating person--no, these are precisely the people who try it out for a week and realize it's not for them--the ones who thrive (and STAY) in SL are the truly creative and intellectual...besides, how can a cheetos-eating fatso possibly appreciate the creativity and conceptualization that came about making something like this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD7xXBInhqs&e ...makes you think, doesn't it?

Yeah you should join the army man! It's just like CS:source only no lag! No respawns though...

No seriously though, it is shameful the way the army is glorified, and the measures the army goes to recruit the young to go and fight whatever fight they feel is best for them.

I have a bet soon they're going to grab me in a match in Halo or TF2 and try to make me join before I shoot them for ruining my kill streak, then they hunt me down and do the same to me in real life... it's only a matter of time.

mmh. Again with the targeting of America's youth!
In my high school, a National Guard spokesperson comes over to our school, and sets up a table wherein a large capacity of fliers and other various handouts are kept, and subsequently handed out to the pimpled masses. Obviously America's Army is doing well, but I think that this Second Life thing goes a little too far in my book.