Honestly when I enrolled at 17 through high school co-op, I didn’t think I would be exactly where I am right now: Playing Call of Duty let alone for… for the CAF. It’s something interesting for sure.
In 2023, the Royal Canadian Air Force launched a gaming program in support of the 2024 Air Force anniversary. So, in 2024, the Air Force turned 100 years. And we needed to find a way to connect and inspire youth. And so, we created military esports in an attempt to go into these ecosystems where all of these youth are hanging out and talk to them about the benefits of the military.
I’ve been playing Call of Duty for over 10 years. I don’t remember the last time, maybe I was 12 when I started playing Call of Duty. I’ve also liked competition modes since I was little. I like playing in a ranked game with other people who compete as well.
I think there is an illusion that our players aren’t fit, are neglecting their family, are drinking Monster and Red Bull all day, are tired. The reality is, it’s not that at all. If you meet some of our teammates and our players, you will see that they are extremely fit. They are very locked in, not just on their game. They are locked in in their profession; they are locked in in their family. These are overachievers that want to overachieve in all aspects of their life.
Gaming for me is obviously kind of my coping mechanism, in terms of actually building my mental resiliency. This is my kind of one escape from everything else, and I quite enjoy gaming at a high level obviously within rank play and then competing in tournaments as well.
Team cohesion is important in the forces, and it’s certain that video games, like Warzone, they require a lot of communication to strengthen our ties. We’re often not from the same base, then, here are these people, and it’s the first time I’ve seen them in my career. So, this is the first time I’ve had a direct connection with them. And it’s also about networking, basically,
to find out what their experience in the bases is. That way, when you arrive on another base, you can have friends who are already there, to guide you to the right person when you arrive for the first time on a base.
We are currently still trying to conduct some real Canadian-based academic research and the effects that gaming has on the military. But from our preliminary research, we understand that there is a whole level of connectedness that esports and gaming brings to the CAF. A couple of examples are some of our ill and injured members who might be confined to basement or not ready for society exposure, can use esports and gaming to connect with other ill and injured members. We would like to provide awareness and exposure and education to communities that esports and gaming is not bad. People are doing it regardless, so we need to embrace and create a formalized structure that allows these people to succeed the way that they want to succeed.
Our gamers are not just gamers. They are firefighters. They are infantry officers. They’re fathers. They’re sons. They’re brothers. Our society is transforming digitally so quickly, and these people bring incredible skills to help society transform into the future.
