MILITARY MATTERS: Hundreds of Soldiers Enlisting At Halftime Of Atlanta Falcons Game

ATLANTA, Ga. (WTVM) - With the U.S. Army needing new recruits, the Atlanta Falcons are helping out. At halftime of their next game, hundreds of people will take the oath to join and many others will re-enlist to Fort Moore, a “call to service” on the football field.

17-year-old Christoffer Amundson will go from band member to soldier after he graduates.

“I always wanted to be a tank mechanic growing up, because my dad was a tanker and he always told me how much fun it was. I thought...I want to be hands on in the tank, not just sit in it and drive, I want to work on one,” Amundson said.

His recruiter told the high schooler he could be Stryker system maintainer in the Army. On November 5, Amundson will be one of several hundred at the Atlanta Falcons game, future Soldiers and current Service Members representing all military branches, including nearly 100 from Fort Moore.

The U.S. Army Chief of Staff will administer the Oath of Enlistment to them. The football team’s president says the theme of their military appreciation games in the past have been “Salute to Service.”

“The idea for ‘Call To Service’ came from a visit that several of us from the Falcons made to Fort Moore, talking about what were their greatest needs, what are their challenges today. What they highlighted for us was a big need for more recruits,” Atlanta Falcons President Greg Beadles said.

New recruits like 20-year-old Logan Dann, a local employee with Marco’s Pizza, will also be part of the special halftime show at this Sunday’s Falcons game.

“My grandpa was in the Army. He was a 1st Lt. in charge of the munitions depot for awhile for the Vietnam War. It was a bit of that and a bit of choosing of what my job was before signing on,” Dann said.

Some Falcons players also took a trip to Fort Stewart in Georgia over the summer.

“Obviously the men and women of our armed forces are risking their lives…but you try to take and learn things from them, how they operate as a team, and translate that back to the football field,” Atlanta Falcons guard Chris Lindstrom said.

The greater focus on recruitment comes after the Army fell about 15,000 enlistees short of their goal last year.

One Army leader recently said, “If you’re a young man or young women out there, looking for a sense of purpose, and a desire to be a part of a cohesive team...would like some securities in life, whether that’s financial security, health security, those things, I would highly recommend joining the military service.”

News leader 9 will have full coverage Sunday night of those enlistments at the Falcons “Call to Service” which will include military static displays, the national anthem by soldiers, and an Army rappel demonstration from Fort Moore’s 75th Ranger Regiment.

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