The Pentagon thinks The Rock can fight lagging military recruitment

Another gentlemen shared this article on my feed, echoing the neagtive sentiment of many others. They ask, how will the Rock relate to them? How will he convince them that this is the right path for them? Why should they listen to him when he never served? And they say there are so many veterans out there who should be advertised as the main means of marketing instead, promoting their honest messages of military service.

I see the point to this line of thought, but I think this a little rushed in judgement. Celebrities ought to use their platform to advocate for things they believe in, to the betterment of that community. That could mean marketing support for certain professions like teachers, healthcare professionals, police officers, or us military folk. It's a shallow platform with little substance, but that's fine. It's just a means of getting to the door.

Recruits are generally... "basic," to put it mildly. That's why we send them off to "basic" training. The Rock will catch them, the recruiters will inform them, and the drill sergeants will break and reshape them.

My own story shares a similar set up. I watched Top Gun as a child and wanted to join the Airforce. Tom Cruise was awesome as a pilot and I thought he was cool. Here I am in the Army with 15 years under my belt. And it all started because of some crazy celebrity in a Navy movie. It's not profound or meaningful.