The Navy’s esports team — Goats & Glory — is readying to open its newly renovated facility in Memphis.
Officials will cut the ribbon on the the Thousand Oaks facility on Friday.
Goats & Glory is part of the U.S. Navy Recruiting Command, based in Millington. The team is one way the Navy hopes to connect with potential Sailors.
“Gamers and Sailors have more in common than you might expect,” reads the team’s website. “Highly-skilled, technically-minded and great at problem-solving, they both know what it takes to be at the top of their game.
“The Navy esports team, Goats & Glory, is up for any gaming challenge. From nuke ops to cryptology to aviation and more, each Sailor on the team followed a different path, but they have all come together as an essential part of the Navy’s mission — proving there’s no such thing as a small role in esports or the Navy.”
The team streams on Twitch mainly and has grown its audience from about 1,200 in 2020 to around 7,200 now.
One Thursday morning, a Navy communications specialist screen-named Topside streamed himself playing Forza Horizon 6 for more than two hours.
“People are definitely out there watching, engaging, and interacting with our Sailors on the team,” Lt. Robert Dyer said in a 2020 news release. “First and foremost, we’re just out there engaging on a near daily basis with the community.
“We’ve reached out doing several squad streams and trying to fit into the community just trying to get exposure in those authentic ways.”