Army unit dangles Grand Theft Auto VI leave to entice soldiers into reenlisting

Army soldiers in a combat engineering unit in Georgia can get four days off to play the new Grand Theft Auto video game when it’s released in November — but there’s a catch: They must agree to sign up for more years in service.

At least 20 soldiers among 130 eligible service members have taken up the offer presented by the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion at Fort Stewart, Georgia, a public information officer told The Independent on Wednesday.

The incentive was published in a July 28 memorandum, seen by The Independent, that establishes a “special reenlistment incentive program” in an effort to retain troops and boost morale . “This special pass is specifically designated to coincide with the highly anticipated release of the video game Grand Theft Auto VI ( GTA 6 ),” which is expected to be released in November, according to the memo.

“Yes, this memorandum is real,” Lt. Col. Angel Tomko, a public affairs officer with Fort Stewart’s 3rd Infantry Division, told The Independent . “The idea was to have a unique incentives program that connects to what soldiers are interested in.”

The promotion applies to all active-duty enlisted troops in the battalion who are eligible for reenlistment and who sign a new contract between August 1 and November 14. Eligible soldiers must reenlist for a minimum of two years or up to six years.

“The command team, in conjunction with the career counselor, wanted to get soldiers excited to reenlist,” Tomko added. “The command team thinks eligible soldiers are more aware that they are in their window for reenlistment and engage their leadership and the career counselor earlier to see available opportunities.”

The video game incentive sprang from a new career counselor “who approached unit leadership with an idea for an updated creative incentives program” to hit reenlistment goals in the upcoming fiscal year, Tomko said.

The incentive, first reported by Task & Purpose , follows growing challenges to retain mid-career personnel across U.S. military branches while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attributes stable recruitment figures to his “warrior ethos” culture-war overhaul of the armed forces.

Army personnel can tap into reenlistment bonuses often worth tens of thousands of dollars, but unit commanders often turn to other incentives to ensure their troops can stay.

Under Donald Trump’s administration, and with Hegseth running the show, the Army has come up with several ideas to retain troops, including tying retention checks to fitness tests.