An Air Force Gaming team representing Alaska competes in Rocket League at Enlisted Club on Yokota Air Base, Japan, March 26, 2026. (Jeremy Stillwagner/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Airmen from as far as Alaska traveled to this airlift hub in western Tokyo this week for the second annual Pacific Air Forces Esports Championship.
The airmen go head-to-head in the base Enlisted Club through Saturday in Call of Duty Black Ops 7 and Rocket League. Four teams — 28 players from Japan, South Korea, Alaska and Pacific Islands — are participating.
The four-day competition was organized by Air Force Gaming.
The winning teams for each game will receive a trophy and represent PACAF at the Air Force Gaming world championship later this year.
“In addition to a trophy, the winning teams are getting custom controllers and they’re also getting an amazing permissive TDY to go to the States for a passion that they love,” Tech Sgt. Chad Ellis, an Air Force Gaming ambassador based at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, told Stars and Stripes at the event Thursday.
Gaming competitions are commonly held online and on military bases worldwide.
“Some of our less popular games like Marvel Rivals, Magic the Gathering or Super Smash Brothers are usually held in an online environment,” Tech. Sgt. Jermaine Harris, a gaming ambassador from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, said at the event Thursday. “Then once a year, we finally get to get all the sweats in one location for the championship.”
Winners of the second annual Pacific Air Forces Esports Championship at Yokota Air Base, Japan, will receive these custom controllers, among other prizes. (Jeremy Stillwagner/Stars and Stripes)
“Sweats” is a slang term for players who are highly competitive and often prioritize winning and optimal strategies over casual play.
Over the years, gaming has only grown in popularity and spurred each branch of the U.S. military to assemble gaming programs. Most are geared toward boosting morale and camaraderie among troops.
The Army and Navy took a different approach and assembled dedicated esports teams that are managed by their respective recruiting commands. Gamers are treated like other military sports teams and are often accompanied by recruiters to show prospective recruits the opportunities available to them in the military.
While gaming competitions and esports teams are more recent developments, it’s not the first time the military has used video games for recruiting purposes.
The Army created an in-house game development studio to produce the America’s Army video game series between 2002 and 2015, according to Army news releases. The intention was to give players a realistic depiction of Army training and combat operations, hopefully inspiring them to pursue a military career.
The studio stopped supporting the America’s Army franchise in 2022 and has since been tasked with creating interactive training programs, according to the IGN gaming news website on Feb. 9 that year.
