Fortunately today, most Americans will never have to take part in actual military combat, and for most people video games are close to the frontlines as they'll ever likely get. Yet, the U.S. military has seen that the popularity of first-person shooter (FPS) games could serve as a recruiting tool – especially as one of the most popular series in the genre remains Activision's  Call of Duty.

Business Insider spotlighted how the U.S. Army has embraced the so-called "esports" and now pays Sgt. 1st Class Joshua David, a Green Beret, to play games competitively. David, who completed multiple deployments to Afghanistan and continues upwards of five hours of grueling physical training every day, earned a spot on the equally elite esports team.

Even before the global COVID-19 pandemic sidelined major professional sporting leagues, esports were on the rise – with competitions broadcast on ESPN2, DisneyXD, The NFL Network, TBS, CW and even CBS. The audience for esports was expected to grow globally to 495 million this year, while esports was forecast to reach revenues of $1.1 billion in 2020.

Even as the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League were forced to postpone their respective playoffs and Major League Baseball delayed its season, esports has been able to continue because players can more easily "physically distance" from one another and even play remotely.

The idea of professional video gamers might have seen as a joke just a couple of years ago, the truth is that many gamers can, in fact, make a real career – but it takes dedication and notably actual training, but the ability to work as a part of a team is a good skill for competition, which is why military personnel like David can excel.

The Army's esports league is part of the broader Marketing and Engagement Brigade based at Fort Knox, Kentucky where other military marketing teams are also stationed, Business Insider noted. This includes units such as the Golden Knights parachuting team.

The U.S. Army created the first military-branded esports team to enter into video game competitions back in late 2018, and it was populated with a mix of active personnel, reservists and even veterans. All that was required to apply was some skill in FPS video games such as Call of Duty, Player Unknown's Battlegrounds and the breakout hit Fortnite.

Earlier this year the U.S. Air Force also put out its own call – to active-duty Airmen and Reserve (on orders) – to represent the service in the 2020 Evolution Championship Series (EVO), which will be held in Las Vegas from July 21 to August 2 – depending on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. military has long seen video games as both a tool for training and recruiting. These past efforts have included America's Army, a series of FPS games that were financed by the U.S. government. In total, 41 versions of the game were released from 2002 to 2014, and distributed by free download for the PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and even mobile platforms. It was also used to provide a virtual military experience at air shows and sporting events around the country.

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. He is the author of several books on military headgear including A Gallery of Military Headdress, which is available on Amazon.com.