The 3rd Infantry Division of the US Army, which once fought in two world wars and in Iraq, offered a “unique incentive program” for its engineers, the command told Variety magazine. Military personnel will be given four days off to play Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA 6) if they agree to sign a new contract for at least two years.
GTA 6 is the long-awaited new installment in the iconic action video game series, the last of which came out 13 years ago. The release is scheduled for November 19, and on August 27, developer Rockstar should officially present the gameplay of the game on Netflix streaming. Recently, unknown hackers began posting gameplay footage before the official presentation.
According to the division's press officer, Lt. Col. Angel Tomko, of the 130 soldiers of the 9th Engineer Battalion who were offered the “deal,” 20 have already accepted it. The division is based at Fort Stewart in Georgia.
“The idea was to provide soldiers with a unique incentive program that is related to what they are interested in,” Tomko explained.
She added that the campaign was invented by the battalion's new career consultant in order to achieve military recruitment targets for 2027. This year, the U.S. Army has already recruited more than 61,000 recruits ahead of the September deadline.
As ABC News noted, the Pentagon attributed success in recruiting military personnel to their sympathy for President Donald Trump, but recruits interviewed by the channel cited high salaries, educational benefits and other support measures as the main incentives to sign a contract.
CBS News adds that the program at the 3rd Infantry Division could be expanded to other units within the division. The engineers still have until November 14 to respond to the command’s proposal.
