Memphis is set to become the U.S. Navy’s headquarters for all things esports.

The Navy’s esports team, named “Goats & Glory,” is accepting applications from Navy members to join a six-person team to compete in the video game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and help its recruitment efforts.

Those who are accepted to the team will be based full-time in an esports-focused facility at a currently undetermined location in Memphis, where they will practice and stream games online. The plan is to have the location up and running later this year, said Allen Owens, deputy chief marketing officer for Navy Recruiting Command.

“Everyone knows Pensacola is the home of the Blue Angels,” said Chief Marketing Officer Capt. Matt Boren, referring to the Navy’s flight demonstration squadron. “With the growth of esports, it’s possible the most famous outreach item the Navy will have is its esports team based out of Memphis, Tennessee.”

The esports initiative is being coordinated by U.S. Navy Recruiting Command, based at the Naval Support Activity Mid-South facility in Millington, north of Memphis. Lt. Robert Dyer, esports program manager at Navy Recruiting Command, said the hope is to have the additional six team members selected by the end of May.

Whoever applies needs to be interested in being a part of Navy Recruiting Command, Boren said. Those selected will receive recruiting training at the Navy Recruiter Orientation Unit in Pensacola, Florida.

Afterwards, the new members will relocate to Navy Recruiting Command in Millington on a set of three-year orders and work out of the esports training facility, practicing, streaming online, attending events and helping outreach efforts.

“The team members will operate at a facility specifically designed for the team to practice, stream and compete,” the Navy said in its announcement of the team. “Once the team members have checked into CNRC, they will develop a routine streaming cadence, encouraging followers and viewers to interact with the members and recruiting content.”

The new team members could compete in games beyond Counter-Strike: Global Offensive if they have high rankings in other games, Owens said.

Goats & Glory currently has 10 members, all from Navy Recruiting Command, who stream themselves playing a variety of games Monday through Saturday on the Twitch livestreaming channel “AmericasNavy.” The team made its competitive debut at DreamHack Anaheim, an event with esports tournaments, in February.

“When we attended DreamHack, the interaction between the younger generation and us was phenomenal,” said Machinist's Mate 2nd Class Andrew Crosswhite. “They were psyched we were there.”

Frequent live streaming gives sailors the opportunity to connect with those outside the Navy about their jobs and what Navy life is like. Owens said Goats & Glory’s streaming efforts have been successful as more people isolate themselves at home and spend more time online due to COVID-19.

“(Viewers) can find out a little more about the Navy as they have those discussions on Twitch,” he said.

Dyer said the Twitch channel has more than 3,000 views and more than 500 followers in its first few weeks, per the most recent channel statistics he has viewed.

The online footprint allows the Navy to reach more people than it could with just local recruiting stations. The online-centric recruiting approach has been more effective of late as COVID-19 containment measures take effect, according to Boren.

There’s less familiarity among the public with the military since it went to an all-volunteer force, Boren said, so much of the esports campaign focuses on awareness of the Navy’s mission and the experiences of its sailors. This is especially true among those in their late teens and early twenties who have a high interest in esports, he added.

“This crosses all geographic boundaries and gives us a way to have a conversation with someone who may have never met a sailor,” Owens said of the esports campaign.

The team name Goats & Glory also provides a bit of history for those unfamiliar with Navy history. Goats, once a food source for the Navy, serve as the branch's mascot.

“There’s several longstanding traditions of the Navy with goats,” Boren said. “It was us pulling the word ‘glory’ to that name and it had some tradition to it, so that’s where we landed.”

Max Garland covers FedEx, logistics and health care for The Commercial Appeal. Reach him at max.garland@commercialappeal.com or 901-529-2651 and on Twitter @MaxGarlandTypes.