Johhny Canuck action figures hitting store shelves?

Last month in a blog posting called HELP WANTED, I shared some thoughts on ways I thought the Canadian armed forces could ramp up the magnitude and effectiveness of its recruiting efforts. One of those ways was to look at what the U.S. Army did in creating an online game called America's Army.

On Friday the Associated Press reported the U.S. Army is taking it one step further with the introduction of $10 Army action figures to hit store shelves by this Christmas season. Excerpts from the article include:

“We're trying to put a face on soldiers so that kids can relate to them,” said Col. Casey Wardynski, director of the America's Army project. “It's hard to relate to a big green machine. This is a chance to get to know some of them who have done really outstanding things.”

The program comes after the Army fell short on recruiting last year, the first time since 1999. As of last month, the active-duty Army had signed up 72,997 new soldiers, nearly 3,000 above its year-to-date target. The Army National Guard was about 200 below its target of 63,240, while the Army Reserve was almost 2,000 below its year-to-date target of 33,124.

Wardynski said the Army spends about $2.5-million annually on the free PC game, a first-person shooter in which players go through a simulated boot camp or team up with other real players on-line in three-dimensional battles. About 27 million copies of the taxpayer-funded game have been distributed since its July 4, 2002, debut, and there are about 7.5 million registered users.

For the full story visit Likeness of real soldiers added to America's Army on the Globe and Mail's web site. Again, not a bad idea to look south of the border for some guidance on this one.