The U.S. Marine Corps announced it will compete against other U.S. and British service branches this Friday in a "Call of Duty" video game tournament.
Six members of the Marines' Quick Reaction Force, chosen from 70 volunteers, will participate against U.S. Amy, Navy, Air Force and Space Force personnel, as well as volunteer teams representing Britain's Royal Navy, Army and Air Force, in a virtual competition involving the popular military video game "Call of Duty," the Corps said in a press release.
The C.O.D.E. Bowl is sponsored by the Call of Duty Endowment, a non-profit organization serving unemployed U.S. and British veterans.
The tournament begins on Friday, Dec. 11, at 1 p.m. EDT and will be livestreamed on the endowment's Twitch and YouTube video channels, the group's Facebook page announced on Wednesday.
While the Marine Corps encourages video game participation, it does not maintain a formal esports team, although it sent a team to an online tournament in Texas in July.
The QRF will be demobilized after the event, and each service branch stresses that the competitors are volunteers who enjoy gaming in their off-hours.
The Marines' participants, chosen from across the spectrum of military specialties, include SSgt. Anthony Benson, SSgt. Bradly Pittenger, Sgt. Gerardo Infante, Sgt. Brian Kunst, SSgt. James McNeil and Sgt. Nicholas Lubchenko.
The C.O.D.E. Bowl was initiated in 2019 by the U.S. Army Esports Team, and was won by a team of two Army members and one civilian gaming enthusiast.
