{"id":65998,"date":"2018-02-13T20:51:47","date_gmt":"2018-02-13T20:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/13\/dod-launches-know-your-military-to-introduce-troops-to-those-they-serve\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T12:05:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T12:05:23","slug":"dod-launches-know-your-military-to-introduce-troops-to-those-they-serve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2018\/02\/13\/dod-launches-know-your-military-to-introduce-troops-to-those-they-serve\/","title":{"rendered":"DoD launches \u2018Know Your Military\u2019 to introduce troops to those they serve"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Petty Officer 2nd Class Cha\u2019lee Adams<\/a> Jr. isn\u2019t just a sailor. He\u2019s also a comedian with an online video channel that\u2019s gone viral, and he\u2019s tossing his hat into stand-up routines as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adams is the first service member to be featured on DODLive as a part of the Department of Defense\u2019s new initiative, \u201cKnow Your Military,\u201d launched on Feb. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not a recruiting effort, but an outreach initiative, conducted primarily over social media, to try to shrink the growing civilian-military divide<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an effort to introduce the American public to the 1 percent<\/a> who serve,\u201d Pentagon Press Secretary Dana White said during a press briefing Feb. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only is 99 percent of the country\u2019s population not serving, few in the U.S. even have a direct link<\/a> to the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the mid-90s, about 40 percent of young Americans had a direct family member that was a veteran or a service member,\u201d said Amber Smith, deputy assistant to the secretary of defense for outreach. \u201cToday it\u2019s about 15 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n