The New Recruit

There has yet to be a game about the heroic exploits of the National Guard. Blame it on the well-trod caricature of the grizzled marine, or the sensationally reported success of the Navy’s once-secret hit squad DEVGRU, short for the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (or more popularly known as SEAL Team Six). But the National Guard has flown under the game design radar. Even 2011’s Homefront, a game about an invasion of the continental US by foreign powers—the very situation the National Guard exists to repel—stars two gruff former marines, plus one hunting expert. The National Guard is mentioned, but only cursorily in a tie-in novel.

With that in mind, it’s hard to fault Staff Sergeant James Brennan, a recruitment officer for the National Guard, for choosing a game about an entirely fictional branch of the armed forces for the promotional tournament held in Geneva, NY last January.