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Paintball Emerging as Promising Source of New Army Recruits
NEW YORK: Paintball, the fast-growing American sport, has emerged in recent months as a promising source of fresh fighters at a time when the armed forces are stretched thin, Newsweek reports in its March 19 issue (on newsstands Monday, March 12). Army recruiters in New York, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, California, Chicago and North Dakota have all scoped out paintball events, reports Assistant Editor Andrew Romano.
Army recruiter Sgt. Cory Elder, a paintball player himself, began trolling Long Island events for prospects late last year. After five “low-key” trips, his unit has signed up two new troops and identified another 50 who “seem interested.” Encouraged by such progress, the Army last month inked a $100,000 ad deal with Paintball Sports magazine, offering up tanks, choppers and — naturally — a huge Army recruiting booth for the 2,000-player Long Island Big Game in May. “We're watching Long Island as a pilot program to see whether there's enough interest to take this across the country,” says Col. Donald Bartholomew of U.S. Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, Ky.
Sgt. Cory Elder smiled as he surveyed the field of battle. There were soldiers everywhere
