For a couple of years now, the Pentagon has raised a growing concern for the U.S. military: Recruitment levels are dropping pretty fast.

The Pentagon is particularly focused on recruitment levels for younger millennials and Gen Z.

A Department of Defense survey found that when young people were asked, "How likely is it that you will serve in the military?" only 11% responded "definitely" or "probably."

So, the military has been investing in some unexpected strategies, and a big one is video games. The Pentagon is hoping the world of esports, streaming, and gaming will turn things around for their generational recruitment crisis.

Technically, video games aren't totally new territory for U.S. military recruitment. In the early 2000s, the Pentagon released its own game called America’s Army, a multiplayer shooting game in the vein of Call of Duty or Counterstrike. After decades of pretty reasonable success, it eventually discontinued in early 2022.

The U.S. military has also collaborated with game makers behind franchises like Call of Duty or Doom, sometimes using modified versions of games to teach recruits, at other times consulting with game designers to plan "realistic" war scenarios or even recruiting game designers for Washington think tanks focused on military strategy.

So, this relationship is decades old. But, the dropping numbers of military applicants in recent years has ushered in a new era in the gaming-military complex, and this is where esports and streaming have really dominated.

There is now a pro-esports team for every branch of the military – even the space force. They compete with other pro teams, other military branches, and even other allied countries' military teams. The military also sponsors many esports tournaments, which helps enlarge their presence even more.

They've also steadily been streaming on the massively popular platform Twitch, the top gaming streaming site in the world, but this is where recruiters have most recently run into trouble.

Twitch's age limit is only 13 years old, and critics have objected to using such recruitment tactics on children. In some cases, the military allegedly had links with vague messages like "Sign up to win!" which, when clicked through, only led to recruitment forms.

In 2020, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez even proposed an amendment to a fiscal bill to stop the military from using video games for recruitment. Lawmakers voted against it, 292 votes to 126. Though it didn't pass, it renewed attention on the controversial practice and put a strain on the military's video game push.

Around the same time as the House vote, the Army found itself in hot water after banning viewers on Twitch who trolled and criticized the military, including writer and activist Jordan Uhl.

After being sued for violating free speech, the military temporarily left Twitch altogether.

Some critics have also pointed out the dangers of trivializing war and militarized violence for children, by equating it with a video game. Even today, the Air Force has a game directly on its website called Airman Challenge that lets you learn about drones and operate one to bomb "insurgents" in Middle Eastern countries like Afghanistan and Iraq.

It's unclear what exactly is next for the military's big recruitment push in video games. Although the recruitment practice has repeatedly found itself in controversy, it seems to be far from slowing down. Esports tournaments and sponsorships are only continuing, and the military has cautiously waded back into the world of streaming.

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The U.S. Army is now projecting that for the next two years it will massively fail to recruit as many troops as it hoped, falling short by nearly 40,000 new recruits, according to the latest estimates and testimony from the Army's second highest leader."We've got unprecedented challenges with both a post-COVID-19 environment and labor market, but also private competition with private companies that have changed their incentives over time," General Joseph Martin, vice chief of staff of the Army, told the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee on Tuesday.The Army is projecting it likely will fall short of its fiscal year 2022 recruiting goal by as many as 10,000 troops and could miss the fiscal year 2023 recruiting goal by as much as 28,000 troops, according to Army estimates.Low unemployment has hurt the ability to recruit for some time, but the situation is growing worse with fewer Americans showing an interest in serving. There is also a decline in the number of people physically qualified. "That's why we've gone from 29 to 23% of the population that is available to serve," Martin said.To get more people to join, financial incentives are being offered. The Army has also explored the idea of no longer requiring recruits to have a high school diploma, but it hasn't settled on a final plan.The statistics paint a grim picture. The Army is authorized to have as many as 485,000 troops for FY22, but already reduced that goal to 476,000. At best, Martin said, the Army believes it will "land at 466 for this year for an end strength," leading to a potential shortfall of 10,000.So far, the Army has recruited 30,000 troops in FY22 -- half the 60,000 goal if the Army were to meet the 476,000 troops size. But one official told CNN that the Army no longer thinks that is possible given the challenges it faces and the 10,000 recruit shortage is a likely scenario.For FY23, the size of the Army could further shrink to between 445,000 and 452,000, Martin indicated. The Army will try to maintain a size of 455,000, but that will also be substantially less than the original plan.Related video: Soldier reunited with dog after deploymentThe good news for the Army is the people who are joining appear to be willing to stay.The retention goal for FY22 was 55,900. As of July 7, the Army has already exceeded its goal by reenlisting 57,738 soldiers, according to Colonel Catherine Wilkinson, an Army spokeswoman.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The rallying cry of protesters in the wake of the death of George Floyd is quickly becoming "defund the police."

THE REFORMS

Some departments are taking steps to do just that.

Los Angeles' mayor said he wants to cut the police budget by $150 million.

New York's governor has signed into law a comprehensive package of reforms, including allowing police disciplinary records to be made public.

Minneapolis' city council has committed to dismantling the police department.

The Colorado General Assembly is passing legislation allowing officers to be sued. Currently, police are immune from civil lawsuits under what is known as "qualified immunity."

All these steps have been praised by many advocates and for obvious reasons, they are tired of deaths like George Floyd's.

POLICE CONCERN

Police unions, however, are sounding an alarm. While some reforms are welcomed, like a ban on chokeholds, they say others go too far.

"Law enforcement is being crucified," Chief Alfonso Morales of the Milwaukee Police Department recently said.

Now, there is a warning that it could lead to early retirements or a drop in recruits.

"There are officers in my department talking about wanting to get out of law enforcement early," said Sgt. Rob Pride, a national trustee with the Fraternal Order of Police.

Pride is more than just a union representative. Pride met with President Trump at the White House this week.

Pride says movements to defund police departments will eliminate programs that most police officers actually like to take part in.

"We will be relegated to be a reactive police force at best with no additional programs and no additional interaction other than to enforce the law and arrest people. That's not a profession I want to be a part of," Pride said.

Pride also raised a concern about recruitment.

The Police Executive Research Forum reported that before the latest protests, 63% of police departments nationwide saw a decrease in applications to become an officer in the last five years.

"It's already difficult for us," Pride said.