The US military continues to suffer a massive decline in recruiting young talents, particularly from Generation Z or those born after 1996. As reported in August, the Army anticipates 10,000 recruits short of its target for this fiscal year and would probably decrease more “if the trend persists to decline.”

As part of its intense recruitment efforts to bridge the growing gap between the new generation and the military, the latter are now scouring for potential young talents where most might be spending their time: online video gaming.

“A basic rule in recruiting is, you got to go where your market is,” said Maj. Gen. Edward W. Thomas Jr. of the Air Force Recruiting Service.