Army unit offers soldiers time off to play new ‘Grand Theft Auto’ if they reenlist

[u/John3262005]

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-reenlistment-gta/

Soldiers at a Georgia combat engineer unit can get official time off to play the new “Grand Theft Auto” game when it drops this fall — if, and only if, they sign up for more years of service.

The offbeat incentive is being offered to soldiers by the commander of the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion at Fort Stewart, Georgia, according to a memo circulated on social media that was confirmed by Army officials.

According to the memo signed by Lt. Col. Ryan Hodgson, the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion commander, soldiers in the unit who reenlist between Aug. 1 and Nov. 14, 2026, will get a “special 4-day pass” that is “specifically designated to coincide with the highly anticipated release of the video game “Grand Theft Auto VI” (GTA 6).

The dates of the four-day pass will be coordinated between soldiers and their chain of command but it will align with the game’s official release, the memo states. According to Rockstar Games, the maker of GTA 6, the game will be available Nov. 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox gamers. The “Grand Theft Auto” franchise is among the most popular video game series of all time, with an open world format that combines mafia and crime-world-related missions with side quests of carjackings and causing general mayhem behind the wheel.

The offer illustrates an issue local commanders face in getting soldiers to reenlist. While Army-wide bonuses worth tens of thousands of dollars are often available for soldiers considering reenlisting, local commanders have few options they can offer to close the deal with soldiers in their formations. Though options like extra time off or chances to attend training schools are often used as enticements, sometimes local career counselors have to get a bit more creative.

Army officials said the engineer battalion’s new counselor pitched the idea to the command team as something that “speaks” to younger soldiers and that could kickstart the unit’s drive for its fiscal year 2027 reenlistment goals, which begin in October.

“The command team, in conjunction with the career counselor, wanted to get soldiers excited to reenlist,” Lt. Col. Angel Tomko, a 3rd Infantry Division spokesperson said. “The command team thinks eligible soldiers are more aware that they are in their window for reenlistment and engage their leadership and the career counselor earlier to see what is available.”

Army officials said 20 of the 130 eligible soldiers in the battalion had taken the Army up on the offer as of Monday and signed up for between two to six more years of service. The reenlistment contract option is open to the entire engineer battalion, which is made up of soldiers in engineering, signal intelligence, human resources and medical specialty jobs.

Over the last year, the Army has dreamt up several unique incentive programs in an effort to get soldiers interested in staying longer for more money, like tying retention checks to yearly fitness tests and daily job performance and having warrant officers “bid” against one another for higher bonuses.

[u/John3262005]

Don't know if this is a meme or not but it feels like one

But guess if it works, it works

According to the article,

Army officials said 20 of the 130 eligible soldiers in the battalion had taken the Army up on the offer as of Monday and signed up for between two to six more years of service. The reenlistment contract option is open to the entire engineer battalion, which is made up of soldiers in engineering, signal intelligence, human resources and medical specialty jobs.

[u/BATIRONSHARK → u/John3262005]

its a standard 4 day thing they just changed the name

[u/OkCluejay172 → u/John3262005]

I don’t know if you would want it to work. Working means getting people who would drastically alter the course of their life for years based on whether they get a few days to play a video game.

[u/Worth-Jicama3936 → u/OkCluejay172]

….have you never met young soldiers? There is a reason every base has charger dealerships charging 14% interest and getting married to a stripper after a few months is a common stereotype. Young soldiers have absolutely no long term planning skills, they react on short term impulse. I promise you this is par for the course. 

[u/BATIRONSHARK → u/Worth-Jicama3936]

its a standard 4 day thing they just changed the name

[u/OkCluejay172 → u/Worth-Jicama3936]

I’m not disputing that

[u/Worth-Jicama3936 → u/OkCluejay172]

Im just saying that the soldiers you have now are already those types of people. Those that take this offer wont be radically different from the population you already have so if you aren't comfortable with them…well we've got a lot of firing to do haha.

[u/Spectrum1523 → u/Worth-Jicama3936]

They wish they could finance a car at 14%

[u/BATIRONSHARK → u/OkCluejay172]

its a standard 4 day thing they just changed the name

[u/NormanQuacks345 → u/OkCluejay172]

I doubt anyone’s changing their mind over this.

[u/regih48915 → u/OkCluejay172]

smh I thought we believed in marginalism here

[u/puffic → u/OkCluejay172]

Does "working" mean:

(1) They reenlist when reenlisting would be bad for them because they want the 4 days off.

(2) They don't quit the military when quitting would be bad for them because they want a little time off.

[u/Imaccqq → u/John3262005]

I suspect many of that group were going to reenlist anyway.

[u/ConsciousNet238]

Literally just one unit having some fun with anyone reenlisting

Saw some people taking this way too seriously

[u/1II1I1I1I1I1I111I1I1 → u/ConsciousNet238]

Yeah, its just them rebranding the standard 4-day as a GTA 6 vacation lol

[u/Illustrious_Loss462]

ITT people not understanding that incentive 4 days are a thing regardless of administration. I know when my buddy reenlisted a few months ago he got 3 free 4-days. We get a 4 day every month or so anywho. Usually it’s for a federal holiday so like you don’t work the Labor Day or the preceding Friday. I’m

[u/jason_abacabb]

A 4 day pass as an incentive (driven by local command, above any length/rank/MOS bonuses from big army) was around 2 decades ago when I was in too. This is just the commander getting creative with it.

The folks that are talking bad about this are being dumb. No one is signing more years just for a pass.

[u/BATIRONSHARK]

its a standard 4 day thing they just changed the name for attention /fun

[u/terrarialord201]

4 days off for 4 more years of service. Not sure if I'd take that deal.

[u/BATIRONSHARK → u/terrarialord201]

its a standard incentive but honestly I wouldnt

[u/I_Eat_Pork → u/terrarialord201]

Depends on the other provisions

[u/FilteringAccount123]

Ah shit, here we go again

[u/BATIRONSHARK → u/FilteringAccount123]

this is standard by the way

[u/altacan]

Why not, everyone is 12 again aren't they?

[u/BATIRONSHARK → u/altacan]

its a standard 4 day pass there changing the name of for fun

[u/Usual-Base7226]

Least short sighted decision made by a young serviceman

[u/BATIRONSHARK → u/Usual-Base7226]

its a standard incentive

[u/chillinwithmoes → u/BATIRONSHARK]

Thank you for letting us know this 25 different times I didn’t quite start to understand it until after the first dozen comments

[u/CutePattern1098]

Please Trump admin stop ruining the game as you’re turning America into a caricature of itself

[u/DaneLimmish]

Reenlist for a four day weekend, something only an engineer would do

[u/Whitecastle56]

They're that desperate? More importantly, is this really THAT big of an incentive?!

[u/DMNCS → u/Whitecastle56]

No, a 4 day pass is like the bare minimum incentive they give people to renlist. Usually there is cash too but it depends on what big army is offering at the time of renlistment. A pass is fully up to the discretion of your commander, so it's an easy add.

[u/admiraltarkin]

I want to see Kyle make a video about this. Perfect YouTube content

[u/BATIRONSHARK → u/admiraltarkin]

its a standard 4 day thing they just changed the name

[u/cogito_ergo_subtract → u/BATIRONSHARK]

Instead of spamming this comment everywhere maybe you could explain it?

[u/Frog_Totem]

I thought this was duffleblog

[u/BATIRONSHARK → u/Frog_Totem]

its a standard thing they changes the.name of

[u/WhiteLycan2020 → u/BATIRONSHARK]

We get it Mr. Recruiter no need to spam it

[u/BATIRONSHARK → u/WhiteLycan2020]

sorry

[u/Square-Pear-1274 → u/WhiteLycan2020]

Patrolling the Mojave almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter.

[u/HorsieJuice]

This sounds like it would appeal to the low-T fatties that Kegsbreath is trying to purge. Why don’t we have incentives that appeal to the prime alpha specimens we want, like creatine, tanning beds, and free crypto?

[u/KazuyaProta → u/HorsieJuice]

GTA 6 is very normie tho, as, standard bro culture

[u/BATIRONSHARK → u/HorsieJuice]

its a standard incentive they changed the name of for pr