Online play became a lifeline for many who were isolated during the pandemic — including members of the Space Force and Marines, who have taken gaming to the next level with joint competitions and fundraisers.

Some veterans-turned-gamers have benefitted from military service.

“The time I spent in the Air Force gave me a lot of discipline that I didn’t have before,” D’Juan “Deejay Knight” Irvin, an Air Force veteran-turned full-time streamer, told Military Times.

Irvin was a senior airman serving with security forces when he decided it was time for a switch. He is now a Shorty award nominee and founder of the gaming news site GAMINGtruth.

Speaking to veterans, Irvin says, “if streaming is something you are considering, start while you are in the military.”

To all veterans who are considering full-time streaming, Knight stressed the importance of community. A 2018 study found that video games help veterans with mental health challenges such as PTSD by connecting them with others and creating meaningful relationships and even jobs.

Top-tier streamers can make anywhere between $100,000 to $200,000 per month, according to StreamerFacts.

“To try and do this full time without a community is impossible,” he said. “You need a community that follows you.”

Another veteran, Michael Hervieux, is making significant headway in the esports realm. A former specialist in the US Army, he is now the head coach for Valorant at the Esports Tower and a major player in streaming.

“I love it”, Hervieux said. “Every day I show up with a smile on my face. It’s the coolest the job I’ve had outside the Army.”

The structure and veterans program at Full Sail University allowed Hervieux pursue his passion: gaming.

“While I was at Full Sail all the veterans there helped me a lot. Talking with them and seeing that they had similar experiences brought me back to that brothership I had while I was in the Army which helped me get back into video games.”

Hervieux’s way of continuing to serve his community after leaving the military has been through training aspiring players, helping them land scholarships and even slots on top-tier esports teams.

Hervieux went through some of the struggles that other veterans have upon leaving the service. His advice to other veterans is to find support and take opportunities when they come.

“First of all — you are not in it alone”, Hervieux said. “I thought I was in it alone and it hurt me. Just remember we all hit that dark spot. I hit it. I struggled with it. The best thing I did was reach out. There is someone out there who can get help you get to a better place.”

Irvin and Hervieux are both optimistic about the future of gaming and esports.

“The streaming world is going to grow- there is no question about that. There is so much possibility for joy and entertainment,” Irvin said.

Hervieux added, “I see this getting bigger than the NFL.”

“The Air Force has 12,395 pilots, 3,313 navigators and 1,343 air battle managers in the grade of lieutenant colonel and below,” according to personnel records. “The Air Force has 26,097 nonrated line officers in the grade of lieutenant colonel and below.”

It’s a small number, but for those who dream of taking to the skies with the Air Force, it’s not impossible.

“The problem potential USAF pilots have is there is such a tiny number of pilot training slots compared to the number of interested candidates,” wrote Jim Howard, a commercial pilot and former USAF Electronic Warfare Officer.

However, Howard doesn’t believe that should discourage hopefuls from trying.

“…heck, somebody has to fly those F-22′s! The only way to know if you’re one of those somebodies is to throw your hat in the ring!” he added.

Another pilot, Michael Wales, described the pilot requirements in a lengthy post on the forum.

“First, all pilots in the US Air Force are officers, this means you’ll need a college degree and you’ll need to complete Officer Training School (OTS – essentially the equivalent of enlisted personnel’s basic training) between the ages of 18 and 29,” he wrote, adding, “if you pass that you might get one of roughly 1,400 pilot trainee slots available each year. You’ll continue through Introductory Flight Training (teaching basic flight concepts common amongst all aviation), you’ll then attend Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training for a year to learn military aviation concepts. From this point, based on your performance/skills you’ll be assigned a category of airframe (for example, Fighters, Cargo/Tankers, UAVs, etc) and will then continue on to an Advanced Training course unique to that platform.”

Some on the forum suggest that the barrier to entry has much to do with timing, however.

“It’s a supply and demand equation,” wrote John Tringali, who identified himself as a pilot. “If the AF really really needs pilots desperately (like right now) you can get through and have issues remembering which way is left and which is right. Other times, when the military is drawing down, you fail a single check ride and you get washed out.”

While there was no consensus about the chances of becoming a pilot, training is not easy. And the life of a pilot can be taxing. However, one user suggested that it’s worth the hardships.

“Becoming a USAF Fighter pilot was one of the toughest things I’ve ever done in my life,” wrote user Charlie Alpha. “It requires 110% dedication & motivation, extreme mental fortitude, resiliency, and a can’t quit attitude. Not every person can do it, and once you do, you realize there are very few things you can’t accomplish if you apply yourself fully.”

The ribbon-cutting ceremony ties in with the DHS’s 2021 Pride Month theme of “Not a Straight Line: The Ebbs and Flows of Progress.”

In accordance, seven DHS members, Chief Michelle Duty, Cdr. Royce James, Ph.D., Lt. John Mack, Petty Officer Derek Smith, Lt. Junior Grade Caleb Tvrdy, Prof. Alex Waid, Ph.D., and Cdr. Kimberly Young-McLear, Ph.D., have been recognized for founding DHS Spectrum — an anti-racist, multicultural, intersectional, and diverse employee association that exists to create and promote “Healthy to Innovate” work environments where all employees can thrive.

“Our purpose is to ensure that everyone can be their authentic selves in the workplace by creating safe spaces for people to serve and work genuinely while also educating others, including allies, on how to actually build these working environments… so everyone can thrive,” Young-McClear told Military Times.

This ribbon cutting ceremony celebrates the group’s progress over the past two years.

DHS Spectrum was founded in May 2019 when these seven members organized a gathering of Coast Guard members for a Pride March.

This resulted in the largest gathering of Coast Guard personnel, with more than 150 Coast Guard cadets and employees of all ranks, marching in New York City.

That day marked the 50-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, where LGBTQIAP+ supporters first advocated for human rights against police brutality at Stonewall Inn.

Every year since, people across nation have come together to acknowledge the historical violence against the LGBTQIAP+ community, identify where change is needed and celebrate the progress made.

The founders of DHS Spectrum hope to continue this legacy. Despite high turnout at the march, the co-founders believe more education is necessary within the LGBTQIAP+ community, as well as for allies.

Over the next two years, the co-founders of DHS Spectrum have created an open and safe community where all are welcomed as their authentic selves. This community has grown to more than 500 members and five geographic chapters, including Alameda, Houston-Galveston, San Diego, Alaska and New Orleans.

This year’s ceremony marked the official launch into the Department of Homeland Security and a commemoration of the group’s effort.

The ribbon was cut at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., with keynote speaker DHS Deputy Chief Human Capitol Officer, Mr. Roland Edwards.

“This is an engaging time for folks to network and mingle and create the tone for how we operate in the Spectrum, which is to take care of one another as a family and always let each other know we are valued and deserve to live and work as our authentic selves,” Young-McClear said. “We think we are onto something really amazing, really good. Working with the DHS allows us a bigger platform to reach out to more people.”

Fellow cofounder, Waid, believes that Spectrum builds community.

“What most excites me about Spectrum is the safety it affords,” he said. “Whenever we are together, it feels like a family reunion. That doesn’t mean everything is 100% perfect all the time, it means that it’s okay when it’s not, because we care about one another and the organization so deeply. We can be fully authentic, we care about one another, we can work together toward our individual and collective successes without putting on any ‘armor.’ In fact, when we get together, we can and we do take off whatever ‘armor’ we walked into the space wearing, knowing that we are in a community of safety, support, and love. It’s really pretty amazing.”

The Spectrum community welcomes people who are dealing with the stigma of HIV/AIDS, are questioning their own gender identity or sexual orientation, survivors of all forms of violence and those that are dealing with isolation from racism, homophobia, transphobia and xenophobia.

On Feb. 15, 1991, Sweet and his flight commander, Capt. Stephen R. Phillis, crossed the northern border of Kuwait, further into Iraq than any A-10 pilot had gone before. Their mission was to eliminate Iraqi Republican Guard tanks about 80 miles past the border of Kuwait.

“We left and found a pristine array of tanks that had not been hit, which shocked us because by that point everything had been bombed for the past 30 days,” Sweet said in an interview with Air Force Public Affairs.

The duo closed in. After dropping their bombs, however, a surface-to-air missile was released from an enemy launch site. As Sweet moved in to attack it, he felt a bump. Looking back, he saw the rear end of his right wing in flames.

In an interview with People Magazine, Sweet said his first thought was “oh, man, I’m hit” before racing to the border.

It was too late. Within minutes, he was forced to eject and landed 50 feet from the same tanks that shot him down.

After crashing, 200 Iraqi soldiers ran towards him, shooting and yelling. They beat him, leaving him with a black eye among other injuries before taking him captive.

For 19 days, Sweet experienced brutality as a prisoner of war. The constant beatings, starvation, disease and boredom in his 8-by-15-foot cell took a physical, mental and emotional toll. Despite his suffering, Sweet endured.

He was returned home in a prisoner exchange along with 15 other POWs on March 6, 1991.

He credits his military training, specifically his Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) school, with his survival.

“There were very few surprises in the jailhouse,” he said. “I knew what to expect.”

Not everyone made it back. Phillips was killed while trying to draw fire away from Sweet and coordinate a search and rescue.

“Shortly thereafter, I found out my flight lead was killed,” Sweet noted. “I was not without psychological problems. I had survivor’s guilt, and it took me a long time to get over that.”

Despite those feelings, Sweet found meaning.

“I don’t regret going over there, fighting and getting shot down,” Sweet said. “That’s what I took an oath to do.”

He found a sense of purpose in mentoring and instructing young airman, particularly fighter pilots.

The Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, commended Sweet during his retirement ceremony.

“Rob, I want to take this opportunity to recognize your service to our nation and congratulate you on your retirement,” said Brown. “You’ve had an outstanding career that I know you, your family, friends and fellow Airmen are proud of. With your retirement it will be the first time in the history of our Air Force that we will not have a former POW serving. In closing, thank you for all you’ve done.”

Sweet’s advice to young airmen is to take every experience day by day.

“Bloom where you’re planted,” Sweet said. “You’re going to have assignments you don’t like, but make the most of them and move on.”