U.S. Army Esports

U.S. Army Esports
DivisionsCall of Duty, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Fortnite, League of Legends, Overwatch, Magic the Gathering, Halo Infinite
FoundedNovember 2018 (2018-11)
Head coachMarcus Lovejoy (Halo Infinite) [1]
Parent groupUnited States Army

U.S. Army Esports is an esports team sponsored by the United States Army.[2] The team, which consists of active duty and reserve personnel, was announced in November 2018 as a public outreach initiative operating within the Fort Knox, Kentucky-based Army Marketing and Engagement Team.[3][4] Games in which the team announced it would compete include Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Fortnite, League of Legends, Overwatch and Magic: The Gathering.[5][6]

In 2020, U.S. military esports activities garnered widespread media attention after a successful legal battle led by the ACLU forced them to lift the bans on the people they had removed for discussing war crimes committed by U.S. armed forces.[7][8][9]

  1. ^ "Army Esports Earns Silver at Inaugural DoD Esports Championship". DVIDS. Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  2. ^ Brown, Fraser (14 November 2018). "The US Army is starting its own esports team". PCGamer. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  3. ^ Garland, Chad (23 November 2018). "Uncle Sam wants you — to play video games for the US Army". Stars & Stripes. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  4. ^ McMahon, James (23 November 2018). "The US military is using video games and esports to recruit – it's downright immoral". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  5. ^ Kaser, Rachel (23 November 2018). "The US Army's Fortnite esports team is totally not for recruitment". The Next Web. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  6. ^ "U.S. Army wants to pay you to play video games competitively". WSOC-TV. 10 November 2018. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
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