WASHINGTON — A small tactical unit is deployed in a hostile environment. Your goal: dig in and defend to the end.
Each member of the unit has their specialty; The unit leader calls the shots, has his word, and is the one who decides where the final position is. The unit’s weapons sergeant defends the final location and protects the backs of the other members of the unit. The final member is the unit’s demolitions expert. Its main objective is to inflict as much damage as possible on enemy forces.
Each member knows their primary objective and has been studying every aspect of it with their team for several months, investing hundreds of hours to strategize and learn as much as they can about their enemies.
However, this is not a special unit. This is the US Army Esports Apex Legends Team, based out of Fort Knox, Kentucky and Sgt. Sebastian “Ruszty” Ochoa, a Fire Support Specialist, is one of the professional players on the team.
“I initially thought it was an email for some guys playing games, but it’s not at all!” said Ochoa. “It’s a team and community of competitive and, frankly, elite athletes who go all out every time they play and that’s the biggest misconception I’ve had.”
A native of Gathersburg, Maryland, Ochoa enlisted in the Army in Boca Raton, Florida where he played baseball for Florida Atlantic University.
“I joined the Army to have a sense of structure and be a little more self-disciplined, and the Army definitely gave me that,” Ochoa said.
A few years ago, a mass email went out to the force looking for someone interested in joining the Army’s new esports or electronic sports team. They were looking for esports athletes who wanted to compete at a high level, Ochoa said.
“I was incredibly excited because it coincided with the perfect timing for me,” Ochoa said. “Over the past few years, I’ve just started to rekindle that fire (for games) and[the email]actually kindled a bit of a competitive urge in me.”
His friend expressed that he had the potential ability to compete. So he talked to his wife. They agreed that he should reach out via email and join the Army Esports Team community Discord server, Ochoa said.
For the next six months, he began training in his favorite game, Apex Legends.
Apex Legends, or Apex for short, is a multiplayer battle royale-style shooter game in which 20 three-person teams collect weapons and fight to the last team.
“I probably put in about 2,000 hours,” Ochoa said. “I went to sports training as usual and worked my normal hours.”
After work, he would have dinner and spend time with his wife. She would go to bed, then he would begin his nightly workout. He would typically invest six to seven hours honing his skills and finding teammates. Then wake up and do it again.
He then submitted his application in November 2021. He was selected for tryouts along with 45 other soldiers.
“It was a month-long process of group trials,” Ochoa said. “And I was one of four people chosen out of those 45.”
The US Army Esports Team focuses on five games; Apex, Rocket League, Overwatch, Call of Duty and Halo. There are usually over a hundred people on the Army esports team. These people are called the “At-Large” team. The pro gamers on the loose train and compete at their home base in their free time. They also compete regularly to see who gets included on the competing teams. Only two of those titles have resident players, Apex and Rocket League.
“I know it sounds like a small number,” said Victoria McAdoo, public affairs specialist for the Army’s esports teams. “But just because of the level of competition and the time invested in training for each competition and each title, they focus on the quality and not the quantity of the titles.”
E-gaming is highly competitive and there is such a diverse group of players and titles. We want to be at the top ranks with the rest of the professional esports elite. As such, our in-house esports teams have specialized in two titles, McAdoo said.
Those few who have demonstrated the skills necessary to dig into the world elite of players could be awarded PCS orders or permanent station changes.
In February 2022, along with five other soldiers, he was selected for the in-house Apex team and given PCS assignments.
“First and foremost, I am a soldier. So I still have to abide by Army regulations and standards,” Ochoa said. “I’m from Fort Bragg, go for a jog every morning and do a different workout.”
Every morning the team comes together for a strategy meeting. These strategy meetings can last anywhere from one to four hours, depending on what the team is going through.
“We’ll usually talk about what we did the day before, strategizing about how we’re going to play and what characters we’re going to use. We will go through our game records to identify flaws and weaknesses. Then we figure out how to improve or manage those areas better,” Ochoa said.
If military training is required after their strategy briefing, that becomes a priority. When all military requirements are met, one of three things happens: you work with a trainer at large, conduct target training, or open the game and begin working through scrimmages.
“Target training is a program on the computer where you try to hit different targets from different angles,” Ochoa said. “It helps sharpen your reflexes and improve your ability to hit targets at an ever-changing pace and at different ranges.”
Some of the other aspects they need to train with the game is knowing each character’s inherent abilities, studying each weapon’s abilities, and understanding how each team member prefers to play.
“We have to learn, and we have to know, and that all comes from hours and hours and hours of playing with my specific teammates,” Ochoa said. “Without teamwork, we’re not able to be competitive enough to compete with some of these guys who play for a living.”
