The Navy esports team Goats and Glory appeared at the Boston FanExpo, Aug. 12-14, 2022, assisting Navy Talent Acquisition Group New England in its recruiting efforts. Taking advantage of the accessibility and popularity of video games, the esports team is helping to raise awareness of the Navy’s career options.
At first glance, Lieutenant Aaron Jones of O’Fallon, Illinois and his teammate, Information Systems Technician 1st Class Rod Camiso of Worcester, Massachusetts, seem to be having too much fun for this to be their job.
“I basically play video games all day long,” Jones says. “It’s great. We travel all over the country to organize and participate in tournaments.”
Playing popular games like Valorant, Tekken, and League of Legends is a typical day job for Jones and Camiso.
“Esports is a modern sport,” Camiso says. “It really focuses on teamwork and cognitive skills while building camaraderie and friendships. The people who are familiar with these traits are the people we want to see in the Navy.”
They often travel to places like the FanExpo where they merrily challenge passersby to a video game competition. After letting the winners choose from loot like navy lanyards and stress balls, they start conversations about what the navy can offer them.
“At CNRC, we fall under diversity and outreach,” Jones said. “We’re not technically recruiters; our goal is to be the Blue Angels of esports.”
The creation of the Navy esports team came as part of a drive to reach a younger audience. In the NAVADMIN announcing the team’s design, the Navy recognized the connection people have with the growing Esports community.
“Centennials are moving to digital spaces for most of their content consumption and social interactions, and the Esports domain is one of the most popular and vibrant online arenas to date,” said Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Gilday in NAVADMIN 048/20 . “To make contact with future sailors, the Navy needs to be in the same rooms as those future sailors.”
The team has seen success in its outreach efforts so far. Appearing in major tournaments such as College Warzone and the ESEA (Esports Entertainment Association) Summer Cash Cup, thousands of spectators can see.
“We place banners and ads on major platforms like twitch and youtube,” Jones says. “This helps with the outreach efforts.”
When not traveling, the team streams their games online and answers viewer questions.
“We stream our workouts on Twitch,” Jones says. “We also do interviews with recruiters from NTAG about the Navy. We talk to them about their life in the Navy and answer questions from the chat.”
Hundreds of interested people walked by in the few days the team attended the expo, chatting and learning more about the Navy. The team expects to continue its community outreach and support the Navy’s career and education opportunities across the country.
NTAG New England covers the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and the eastern half of New York. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the command has more than 35 recruiting stations, eight naval operations support centers, and four military input processing stations.
Follow NTAG New England on Facebook (@NTAG.NewEngland), Twitter (@NTAGNewEngland), and Instagram (@newenglandnavy).
| Date taken: | 14.14.2022 |
| Date posted: | 08.18.2022 15:52 |
| Story ID: | 427550 |
| Place: | BOSTON, MA, USA |
| Residence: | CAMBRIDGE, MA, USA |
| Residence: | O’FALLON, IL, USA |
| Residence: | WORCESTER, MA, USA |
| Web Views: | 5 |
| To download: | 0 |
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