Fitness influencer Steven Kelly posted a carousel of photos on Instagram last month that included shots of himself dressed in military fatigues climbing a rope wall and aiming a firearm. Kelly, who has 1.3 million followers on the platform, isn’t enlisted in any military branch – instead it was a sponsored post created in partnership with the US army.
“This experience showed me how the Army builds readiness, resilience, and discipline,” the caption said, as Kelly described the experience of taking part in basic training exercises. The post pointed followers to a link in his bio to learn more about the US army’s opportunities.
Kelly is just one of a number of influencers who are creating sponsored content as part of a new initiative by the US army to reach potential gen-Z recruits who may not have ever had exposure to military life. Many of the partnerships are with lifestyle content creators – other examples include a chef, an extreme sports enthusiast and travel influencers.
“These partnerships increase the army’s visibility, bring awareness to untapped audiences, and articulate the possibilities of army service in unique and creative ways,” said Madison Bonzo, a US army recruiting spokesperson.
The strategy reveals how integral influencers have become to selling not just products but also jobs and entire lifestyles – enlisting is a multi-year commitment.
The recruitment effort is also unfolding alongside the US’s ongoing military aid to Israel as part of a war that is growing more and more unpopular. A recent Gallup poll found that less than a third of adults in the US back Israel’s military action in Gaza as a flood of news reports have exposed the ongoing starvation crisis killing people as a result of Israel blocking aid.
Some commenters called Kelly’s post “propaganda” and found the posts distasteful.
“The rich influencing the poor to do the things that they dont want to. Its giving Hunger Games. Its giving Class Wars,” wrote one person.
Robert Kozinets, a professor at the University of Southern California who has written extensively about social media and marketing, said the content wasn’t so dissimilar from other types of advertising campaigns.
“We’re pretty used to celebrities or personalities who are endorsing particular products,” even if they don’t use them themselves, said Kozinets, adding: “You don’t have to live at Disneyland to do a review of Disneyland.”
While the recruitment effort is new, military influencers who post about life in the armed forces are not. Some creators such as @onexpunchxdad on TikTok poke fun at military life and highlight some of the realities. A recent postfor example, explains three things video games get wrong about the military (one is that it actually hurts if you get shot).
And next month, a Military Influencer conference in Atlanta includes sessions about how content creators navigate both active duty and their personal lives and as well as elevating military voices on TikTok.
The recent slate of sponsored posts, though, are slicker, and selling something more exciting than the reality. In another example, Breannah Yeh, an extreme sports influencer known for her slacklining videos, posted about the experience of tandem skydiving with the army. “Challenges are what let us grow,” said an army captain in the video before Yeh jumps out of the plane.
“That was so epic. I do feel pretty incredible,” Yeh said after landing on the beach thanks to an army-branded parachute. The video ends with the familiar slogan: “Be all you can be.”
The US army’s hope is that the content is enticing enough to attract more people to enlist.
“By participating in immersive army experiences alongside real soldiers, these influencers provide firsthand insights into military life and the possibilities of army service,” Bonzo said.
The move follows the trend of several branches of the military branches having trouble meeting their enlistment goals in recent years, said Katherine Kuzminski, the director of studies at Center for a New American Security who researches military recruitment and retention. With more young people at home finishing school remotely because of the pandemic, they had less opportunity for exposure to programs such as the ROTC, she said.
“Accessing this entire generation of young adults who were in transition became challenging,” said Kuzminski.
But the numbers are rebounding and recruitment is up again. Just before Memorial Day, Donald Trump said while traveling in Riyadh that military recruitment was rebounding more than ever under his administration.
“After years of military recruiting shortfalls, enlistments in the US armed forces are now the highest in 30 years because there is such an incredible spirit in the United States of America,” he said.
The pattern began before Trump took office, data shows. Between 2020 and 2023, the army missed its annual recruitment goals. Last year, recruitment improved and it met its target. In June, the army announced it met its goals of enlisting 61,000 new recruits – four months earlier than expected.
Jess Rauchberg, an assistant professor at Seton Hall University who studies the cultural impact of social media, reviewed some of the posts on behalf of the Guardian and said the content also has a message of security in an unstable time.
“The military is capitalizing on this moment to say, ‘Well, our numbers are down and gen Z is hurting for jobs and stable lives,’” said Rauchberg, Working with creators is a way to “promise them this idea of stability – if you work for us, we will take care of you”.
“That’s appealing to a lot of young people,” she added.
