The U.S. Navy Is On the lookout for Submarine Recruits on Reddit

The U.S. Navy is enjoying video games on Reddit in an try to attract in recruits for submarine crews. On the finish of September, the U.S. Navy launched its new “Sub Reddit Hunt” a marketing campaign on the social media website. All through the month of September, the Navy will “cover” 5 submarines on Reddit and go away clues that potential recruits can use to trace down the submarines.

The sport is an commercial meant to drum up recruitment. It’s the brainchild of VML, an promoting company that’s labored with Microsoft, Coca-Cola, and Ford. “This interactive advertising marketing campaign encourages Reddit customers to decipher codes and seek for clues to finish command directives—designed to draw the subsequent era of submariners,” Advertising and marketing company VML said in a post on Facebook asserting the marketing campaign.

The U.S. Navy, and most different branches of the U.S. navy, are having a tough time getting individuals to enlist. Over the previous decade, the Military, Navy, and Air Power have struggled to satisfy their recruitment objectives. The Navy is without doubt one of the worst performers and has didn’t recruit sailors persistently over the previous few years.

The explanation why are difficult. Many years of unpopular international wars have tarnished the status of the navy. A great financial system means extra jobs, which implies that fewer younger individuals are pushed into enlisting for a paycheck. Many branches additionally received’t let individuals be a part of in the event that they’ve ever used a bootleg substance like marijuana, have a tattoo, or have used psychiatric meds. People are additionally extra unhealthy than they’ve been in generations and may’t meet the essential bodily necessities.

All of that provides as much as fewer individuals becoming a member of the navy. All of the branches have gotten artistic within the final decade as they’ve tried to drum up recruits. The U.S. Navy and Military each preserve lively esports groups, stream on Twitch and Fb, and try to make use of video video games to drive recruitment. It hasn’t always gone well.

The Navy, and different branches, have been already promoting on Reddit. The augmented actuality recreation is simply an evolution of that tactic. “To make sure we appeal to the perfect and brightest future sailors, together with submariners, the Navy is consistently searching for progressive methods to work together with potential candidates on … social and digital platforms,” Rear Admiral James P. Waters, commander of Navy Recruiting Command, told AdAge in an announcement.

The Navy has launched two of the video games and can launch extra because the month rolls alongside. The primary is an extended listing of redacted statements that customers click on to clear away. Beneath the bars are clues that might assist recruits monitor down the primary hidden sub.

The second recreation is an audio puzzle. Clicking an animated gif sends customers to a Google drive the place the Navy has uploaded 8 completely different audio recordsdata that, if deciphered, will make them one other sub. Gizmodo ran the audio recordsdata by a former U.S. Navy sonar tech who instructed them they have been a mixture of issues somebody may hear.

One contained morse code, one other appeared like bridge chatter, and one other appeared like a repeated string of Chinese language. The previous sailor stated the audio was quaint. “We hardly ever really listened to the noises. We largely simply take a look at the shows of the sounds, you get a waterfall show,” he stated. The sailor didn’t work on a sub, nevertheless, and added that “sub-based sonar techs may pay attention greater than we did. Certainly they do.”

The final puzzle is ready to go stay on October 28. In accordance with an announcement from VML, the puzzles “[ask] Redditors to go deeper than ever earlier than to resolve an issue and be taught in regards to the Navy.” It’s unclear if the technique will work.

Navy Recruiting Command didn’t instantly return Gizmodo’s request for remark.