It is ironic that while the British Army do not traditionally want to recruit people with additional needs (ASD/ADHD), they actively recruit at events that are dominated by people who have these additional needs, for example, at gaming festivals and STEM fayres. The British Army has a Twitch account which is an online streaming site where you can watch people play video games, as well as join their online servers. They also have a discord chat that anyone can join and chat with them, as well as other people who play the same games (British Army Esports, n.d.).
Fortnite is the most successful online game on the market. It is free to play on all platforms (with in-game purchases) and is aimed at children aged 12 and over, although younger children do play it. Its peak hit nearly 12 million concurrent players. It targets younger players with its colorful characters, cartoonish design, and its lack of real video game violence. There are guns, but no blood, which is a far cry from other games such as Call of Duty. In Fortnite, players find colorful pops of confetti and magically levitating school buses, rather than night vision assaults of terrorist splinter cells.
Released in 2017, Fortnite has multiple game modes, using the same engine; each has similar graphics and art assets.
Fortnite: Save the World is a player-versus-environment cooperative game, with four players collaborating toward a common objective on various missions, while avoiding the effects of an encroaching cataclysmic storm. The players take the role of commanders of home base shelters, collecting resources, saving survivors, and defending equipment that helps to either collect data on the storm or to push back the storm.
Fortnite Battle Royale is a player-versus-player game for up to 100 players, allowing one to play alone, in a duo, or in a squad. Weaponless players airdrop from a “Battle Bus” that crosses the game’s map, and then scavenge for weapons and resources while trying to stay alive and to attack and eliminate other players.
Lego Fortnite is a survival sandbox game (a sandbox game is a video game with a gameplay element that provides players with a great degree of creativity to interact with, and with a goal that the players can set for themselves), where players collect materials, build various buildings, craft various weapons and tools, and fight monsters.
In addition, Fortnite offers Fortnite Creative, where players can spawn any item from the Battle Royale game mode on a personal island and can create games such as battle arenas. It also supports Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN), which allows players to edit worlds using Fortnite assets, as well as create custom Fall Guys games.
All modes except Save the World are free to play.
The UK armed forces’ new Fortnite-style recruitment video, using video games to gain attention from the new generation, reflects the changing character of war in the 21st century.
There are new tactics where the “information” war is becoming a vital part of conflict. We are seeing both in Ukraine and Gaza where claim and counterclaim are central to the way the conflicts are being fought by all sides. The Fortnite-inspired video may reflect much more than a social media campaign. The video reflects the way that militaries are looking for new skills. (Lacy, 2024)
The British Army teamed up with well-known British gaming YouTubers and influencers, showing off several missions and tasks, but performed by Fortnite characters, going against their own T&Cs to “promote military enrolment”. The army created a Fortnite world dedicated to recruiting, presumably teenagers and younger, but after receiving a lot of backlash it removed its campaign.
But why would the army suit people with additional needs? There are several elements that would both suit and appeal to them, such as:
Routine.
Rigid structure.
Repetitive tasks.
Wearing the same clothes all the time.
Allows people to “hyperfocus” on their interests.
Those on the spectrum thrive in highly structured environments.
There are many advantages to having those on the spectrum in the army:
Senses are more acute.
Ability to process more sensual data.
Better spatial awareness which makes them more alert.
Tend to have better hearing.
Process 20% more visual information.
Ability to recognize patterns.
Ability to spot things that do not belong or seem out of the ordinary.
Notice changes in background textures.
Acute sense of touch.
Depth of focus and control over physical bodies like breath and heartbeat control are easier to learn.
Set aside emotions to make decisions.
Vice Admiral Nick Hine, Second Sea Lord, received his autism diagnosis after returning from Baghdad in 2009, when he went to the GP with suspected PTSD. He had always felt different growing up, did not have many friends and found social activities challenging. He avoided university for fear of social interaction and instead joined the Royal Navy where he had a uniform, a timetable, and a structured day (National Autistic Society, n.d.).
In an interview with the National Autistic Society, he shared how his autism helped in his job:
He is extremely focused.
Loves solving problems and finding the most efficient way to do things.
He is excellent at making rational decisions based on data.
He is honest and frank in his style of communication.
He has a relentless drive to find outcomes.
Being in a nuclear submarine with no windows and few distractions was the perfect place for him.
To encourage neurodiversity, the Royal Navy are now adapting the recruitment and onboarding process so that it works for neurodiverse applicants. This includes asking candidates whether they would prefer a face-to-face interview or on screen. If they want, they can submit written answers.
E, who has autism, is a corporal in the Israel Defence Force’s “Visual Intelligence Division”, otherwise known as Unit 9900, which counts dozens of Israelis who have autism among its members.
For these young people, the unit is an opportunity to participate in a part of Israeli life that might otherwise be closed to them. And for the military, it’s an opportunity to harness the unique skill sets that often come with autism; extraordinary capacities for visual thinking and attention to detail, both of which lend themselves well to the highly specialised task of aerial analysis. (Rubin, 2016)
The pre-army courses consist of three phases, beginning with a rigorous selection process. Students undergo tests and interviews to ensure that they have the skills to successfully analyze images, that they can adjust to the army’s rigid structure, and that they pose no risk to themselves or to their operations. The second phase is carried out in conjunction with the health-profession department at Ono Academic College, which hosts the satellite-image analysis course at its campus in central Israel. During the three-month course, which runs three times a year, Unit 9900 commanders train the applicants using non-classified aerial maps. The students also meet with a team of therapists who help them learn to adjust to new trials and stresses. In the final phase, the applicants continue their professional training and therapy sessions on an army base in Tel Aviv.
Some research suggests that the rare visual capabilities required for Unit 9900 may come more easily to the autistic brain. A 2011 study, for example, found that childhood autism was 2–4 times more prevalent in the Dutch technology hub of Eindhoven than in other Dutch cities of similar size (Hoekstra et al., 2011), supporting a possible link between autism and scientific ability. A similar phenomenon has been observed in Silicon Valley (Silberman, 2001).
When it comes to the British Army, under current rules, applicants who have autism or ADHD tend to get rejected. Aspiring soldiers with ASD and ADHD account for more than 500 failed applicants in the British Army this year (Sheridan, 2024), but the army is pushing to reverse this policy with plans to reassess its medical requirements. As we move toward an age where high-tech warfare plays a bigger role, the skills of neurodiverse people may become highly valued, and in the near future the rules could be very different.