Sometimes, there is news so puzzling that it literally leaves us scratching our heads in confusion. And in today’s world, that kind of stuff seems to happen far more than we want it to. In a weird crossover of two seemingly disconnected things, one US Army unit is offering a four day pass to play Grand Theft Auto VI in exchange for more years of active duty service. The game is set for release on November 19. (Thanks to CBS News for this wild bit of truth.)
Yes, you read that right. Now, incentives are not unheard of to keep people enlisted or to recruit them. There are things like tuition help, special training programs, and even getting to choose where you are stationed that entice people to start or continue military service. But, to us, it is a wild choice to accept a four day leave to play a video game (even one as awesome as GTA VI will surely be) to reenlist for a minimum of two years (with a max of six). A few years of service for help getting a free four year degree? Sure, we get it. But four days is not two years.
Apparently, we don’t know what we are talking about at all. Twenty soldiers at Fort Stewart in Georgia in the Army’s 9th Brigade Engineering Battalion, part of the 3rd Infantry Division, are already on board with this incentive to get four days off to play GTA VI in exchange for more Army service. If they like being in the Army and also like playing games, then we guess it is the right choice for them.
In recent years, as gaming becomes increasingly mainstream and popular among Gen Z, military recruiters have gone to gaming conventions, knowing that many of these gamers are drawn to Call of Duty and similar franchises. Of course, shooting and strategy in a video game world is not like what a real person is experiencing in combat. But many people still want to give the military a whirl anyway, even if they’ve only seen battle on a TV screen.