Communicational possibilities of the Military Force on the Internet

Transcription

1 AARMS Vol. 10, No. 1 (2011) INFORMATICS Communicational possibilities of the Military Force on the Internet ANDRÁS VARGA Zrínyi Miklós University of Defence, Faculty of Military Sociology The establishment of the professional Hungarian Armed Forces is a long-term process where every opportunity is to be exploited in order to successfully address the employees. In my study, I attempted to collect and list the most popular websites on the internet that deal with military problems and particularities. Because of the characteristic of the topic under survey, the selection of the websites displayed in the study is subjective. Nevertheless, I strove to systematize the information therein. In the list, one can find not only websites of various scientific think-thanks but also the homepage of the Ministry of Defence and many other websites devoted to leisure activities. That shows that this topic is almost inexhaustible and can be approach many ways. Changes in Social and Environmental Contexts My work I will focus on the fact that this still marginally used communication channel can approach in various ways the theoretical and practical issues related to the Hungarian army. I will pay special attention to the information sources featuring different contents. The categorization also implies that the websites presented are visited by individuals with different social and socio-graphic backgrounds. In the years following the fall of regime in Hungary the Hungarian Armed Forces have been subject to continuous transformation. This process has multiple constituents which, naturally, do not influence to the same extent the attitude of society towards the defence field. From time to time, some current political events clearly have a greater impact on public opinion; nevertheless, more crucial is to record the long-term transformation process, draft answers and put these into practice. According to János Szabó, the basic attitude of the Hungarian population towards the Hungarian Armed Forces has changed as a result of the voluntary-based character of the military. In his view, the assessment of the army reform can only be successful by taking into consideration the fact that society has changed, moreover, that society itself has brought about the transformation within the Hungarian Army. 1 Since the dissolution of the bipolar world order a relatively war-free Europe has emerged, within which the European armed forces either fulfil defence functions or Received: January 28, 2011 Address for correspondence: ANDRÁS VARGA me-110@fre .hu

2 participate in various military missions in remote parts of the world. All these changes influence in essence the participants of the Hungarian defence as well. In addition to global changes, the continuous reorganization of the military segment, its downsizing and rationalization are of utmost importance. (The Budget of the Hungarian Armed Forces between was constantly around 1.7% of the GDP. Beginning with 2005, due to the economic austerity the available recourses have decreased consistently. Hungary has been subject to repeated criticism, as NATO requires its member states to spend 2% of their annual GDP on defence, Hungary, however, spent only 1.1%. According to the budget plan ratified during the government session of November 22, 2006 the budget of the State Defence Portfolio will increase from 270 billion HUF (1.35 billion USD) in 2007 to billion HUF (1.612 USD) in 2010). Then again, today s post-modern social structure, the challenges of the security policy in a new era, as well as the competition-based market economy all call for the implementation of new methods which require huge investments. Improvement, maintenance, the application of new technological developments could no longer be achieved within the draft-based armed forces. One should not neglect either that the most expensive and at the same time most precious constituent of the military mechanism is the well-trained soldier. This means that it is not sufficient to provide high level training; the highly qualified employee should also be retained in the defence field. As far as staff forming is concerned, the Hungarian Army, in its effort to project the image of an organization that offers an attractive workplace, has been influenced negatively by the spread of individualism and the growing unwillingness to assume responsibility. Challenges of the labour market With the transition to voluntary-based army the ideas about military service and individual strategies have changed fundamentally. 2 This historical moment was preceded by careful planning, yet as home experience did not facilitate the smooth execution of procedures it resulted in various new challenges. My work will not focus on the issue of keeping the technical-technological background up-to-date, possible developments or particularities referring to NATO requirements. Relevant to my project is human resource planning along with the problems and challenges it generates. Defence had to be reviewed due to the change of political economic and social realities. The shift to the voluntary-based army was just the first step of a very complex and complicated reform process. Besides the abolishment of mandatory military service another important issue is the formation of the NATO compatible personnel. A new 146 AARMS 10(1) (2011)

3 type of military had to be developed which breaks with the traditions of mass army. At the same time the reduced personnel has to demonstrate a high level of professionalism. The organizational culture of the army also undergoes continuous change, as the military society is permanently influenced by the economic and social structure of the civilian society. The Hungarian Armed Forces entering the labour market had to face new challenges, such as competition, persuasion, career awareness, appeal. The success of the army s reaction to all these depends on various issues. The first issue to be addressed in this respect is that of traditions preservation. 3 A great number and variety of Internet pages are dedicated to the preservation and cultivation of military traditions. The most comprehensive is: offering an overview of military traditions, containing links to foreign and domestic military historical societies. The user can also surf pages presenting the uniforms, accessories, arms, music of different ages. Potential defence employees should be offered an army image, which, whilst comprising the elements all citizens can well be proud of, still can answer the demands of the new era. The need to develop a positive and attractive image is indisputable, as military service is no longer evident for young people. Thus, the new image should be present in social consciousness on one hand, and facilitate continuous communication on the other. Answering the demands of a new era and aligning with NATO requirements, the main interest of Hungarian Armed Forces is to promote a unified image which carries the same message, philosophy and design within all sub-fields, and which most prominently expresses the essential elements of the organization s identity as well as the self-image it wishes to project to its environment. At the same time, it is capable of consciously integrating the traditions of the historical past and military history, and of passing on its symbols and values while fitting them to the demands of the given era with constructive continuity. 4 Besides projecting a unified image to the public and drawing attention upon army, maintaining motivation, ensuring the appropriate quantity and quality of communication are also essential. Since in democracy there is a strong civilian control over the armed forces, society insists on being properly informed in order to be able to form opinion in matters of defence. The Internet as a domineering factor According to its level of segregation, communication can be divided into three subcategories: AARMS 10(1) (2011) 147

4 Primary form: the transmitter and the receiver of the message do not use technical support during the act of communication. This is the most common form of interpersonal communication in organizations and it serves mainly as means of internal communication. Secondary form: the transmitter requires technical support to transmit the message, however the receiver does not. A typical example would be the written media, the most popular being: Honvéd Altiszti Folyóirat, Új Honvédelmi Szemle, Kard és Toll etc. Publications, posters, brochures, advertisements and information sheets distributed in educational institutions. Tertiary form: both the transmitter and the receiver use technical support. In the 21 st century this form, together with the notions of Inter- and Intranet, can satisfy communication needs the best, while its use is simply inevitable. In what follows I will examine how Internet supports the recruitment strategies of the Hungarian Armed Forces, in particular their conscious long-term planning and development. I will also present opportunities and some websites already attempting to win the information society. The altered tasks of the defence field must be accomplished in a new social and technological context. The aim is obvious and clear: to attract young people who are about to chose a career as well as active citizens apt for military service. Furthermore, the army must be able to ensure a long-term result-oriented future, advance and successful reconversion opportunities. These aims though well-defined, their implementation is far from being simple. According to communication theorists, persuasion, influence and information transmission have various channels. From all these channels I would like to focus on one area which will become if it has not already the most influential in the near future, namely the Internet. Nowadays, the terms consumer society and individualist society are often used to describe our age. I strongly believe in the merit of social scientists who perceive IT revolution as one of the most significant characteristics of our times. Information society along with its effects on life-style has become more and more characteristic of Hungary as well. Despite some sceptics, who do not support, moreover, question the rightfulness of the presumption, I believe that among the age groups targeted by the Hungarian Armed Forces Internet use is becoming more and more popular their lives being influenced by this media to a growing extent. The conscious use of Internet as a platform for marketing activities presents great new opportunities to the defence field Due to its evolution and spreading, the Internet and later the Intranet have become the most important communication channels by which information can be obtained quickly and efficiently. Specialist, however, warn about the main disadvantage of 148 AARMS 10(1) (2011)

5 Internet, namely unreliability, as large amounts of information are published without being verified. The rapid and continuous transformation of the labour market can be best traced with the help of the Internet. If one accepts that information represents the foundation of success, one must also acknowledge that in this rapidly changing world the presence and success of the Hungarian Armed Forces on the labour market highly depends on the use of Internet. Focusing on the issue of Internet use in Hungary various surveys and researches have been carried out for years. World Internet Project (WIP) is an international research program founded in the summer of 1992 on the initiative of the Californian UCLA Centre for Communications Policy and the Singaporean-based NTU School of Communications Studies, and has as its main goal the examination of the social effects of Internet. Hungary joined the WIP in WIP researchers agree on the fact that the Internet will substantially change our social, cultural and economic life and its significance will overrule that of the most effective medium in the past fifty years, namely the television. Most recent researches of the organization (2005) show that only a small percent of the Hungarian society possesses the competencies (digital literacy), other resources and motivation necessary for taking actively part in information society. At the same time, the research underlines the fact that in countries more developed than Hungary not everybody is an active user. This comparative research shows that the leaders of Internet use are the Scandinavian countries, where the number of active users is above 80%. According to the 2005 WIP survey the number of those who use the Internet with some kind of regularity in Hungary was 25%. The percent of weekly Internet users was 22%, which results in 1.9 million users projected on an 8.4 million crowd. The percent of computer users (as well as Internet users) varies depending on the age group. With the increase of the age, the number of computer users substantially decreases: 81% with teenagers 16 to 17 years, whilst only 2% with adults above 61. Younger age groups are much more flexible in adapting www technologies than older ones. The number of users 16 to 17 and 18 to 27 years is twice or more above the average, and even with adults 40 to 49 years this number is still above the average. In case of the eldest the rate of Internet users is only 2%. I consider the above mentioned data fairly convincing about the importance of an indepth analysis of the opportunities offered to potential employees in obtaining the necessary amount of information about the Hungarian Armed Forces, and about the defence field in general. Nowadays, it is perfectly natural for the segment of labour market in search for a new job to gather preliminary information about potential employment opportunities, long- or short-term plans at the respective organization. Due AARMS 10(1) (2011) 149

6 to the above mentioned facts as well as to the civilian control over the army, it is of utmost importance for the Hungarian Armed Forces to provide the public with a wide variety of up-to-date information. This applies to those who actively enquire about employment opportunities in the field, however, an insight must be assured also for those who are inactive on the job market, but could be targeted on account of their age, physical and intellectual capacities. The main scene of this multi-layered dynamicallychanging marketing activity is the Internet. On one hand it provides up-to-date information and ensures speed, on the other it is more cost-effective than any other communication channel. Thirdly, as a result of its character it features contents that can address all age groups and anybody interested. The highest percent of Internet users can be noticed among young people, who represent the main target group of the army. Students in Hungary have access to the World Wide Web as the result of a government policy which viewed the introduction of Internet to all educational institutions. According to my recent survey among high school students their most popular spare time activity is surfing the Internet. To the question how often do you use the Internet the overwhelming majority (90%) answered that on a daily basis. Another evidence for the spreading of the Internet is that none of the respondents answered that they do not use Internet at all. Obviously, students possibilities are not the same, yet, it is a great leap forward to those who do not have Internet access at home. At the same time, there are some factors that work against the dynamics of the process. The implementation of the new technology is also hindered by the fact that a number of teachers, responsible for arousing students interest, have an aversion to Internet. The solution to this problem seems relatively uncomplicated, since the currently socializing age group uses Internet on a daily basis, so they do not require the presence of mediators to understand it. On the other hand teachers are no longer considered role models. Much more characteristic is the significance of peer groups in choosing an idol or in following a code of conduct. Leaders of peer groups are certain to have access to the Internet and are active users. Due to this fact groups are formed which do not have spatial limitations. This represents a great advantage, as nets of relationships can be formed the only limitations of which are foreign language skills. At the same time, I wish to underline the fact that these are virtual groups rarely resulting in personal communication. This is why the presence of a leader is required who draws attention upon the problems of virtual relationships. Due to the nature of the Internet, my article might seem obsolete already from the moment of its publication, since there are new websites and forums appearing daily, dealing with the same ideas but from a different perspective. I would also add that my choice of websites is subjective. In spite of all these circumstances I still consider the 150 AARMS 10(1) (2011)

7 issue important, as the information available on the Internet can be of great help for anybody. The conscious use of the Internet helps the Hungarian Armed Forces to create a positive self-image. The quick information flow facilitates the transmission of authentic knowledge. With broadband Internet connection, specialists, working on the promotion of the defence field and the improvement of the army image, have more opportunities by publishing visually more impressive contents. By innovative solutions the Internet contents presenting the beauties of military life seen only in propaganda movies before can reach larger audiences, thus improving the effectiveness of recruitment. All this contributes to arousing young people s interest, as it has already become obvious that no matter how colourful, interesting or appealing prints might be, they cannot compete with Internet contents. On one hand these publications are rather expensive and it is not certain whether they reach their target groups, while paid advertisements on the Internet are visible for anyone (surfing the World Wide Web). On the other, the reading habits of today s high school students differ from that of the older generations, therefore they find advertisements based on visual or movie technology more attractive than prints. However, traditional communication channels should not be neglected either, since not everyone is member of the information society. Internet pages depending on their nature, contents and style can be various and hard to classify. Nevertheless, I will attempt to make a certain categorization to provide for users with little experience an overview of this slightly chaotic world. Official and scientific websites is the website of the Zrínyi Miklós University of Defence. It focuses mainly on university life, scientific works, comprising the basic data for study purposes. The webpage provides technical help, rather than arouses interest. The site introduces the Military Science Committee of the 9 th Economic and Law Division of the Hungarian Academy of Science. One can have an insight into the history of the organisation and gain information on the most up-to-date events and news. The website renders help in getting acquainted with the most respectable periodicals on military science. On the main page we can find three links leading to three sites. The first one presents the organisational structure of the Hungarian Ministry of Defence. The second offers an insight to the organisational structure of the Hungarian Armed Forces. The third features recruitment information. The contents offer help to anyone in finding useful information about the work and location of local recruiting Commands. Additionally, the site contains a large AARMS 10(1) (2011) 151

8 number of publications (more about these below) as well as up-to-date information for the scientific and professional public. The book recommendation and video sections have the purpose of informing and reaching the public. is the official website of the NATO, providing useful information about the organization, mainly in English. It informs the public about current and past NATO missions worldwide, giving details about partnership agreements as well. It is worth dedicating special attention to the e- library section which contains a wide range of electronic publications. The most appealing and entertaining component for the public is probably the multimedia section featuring photos, videos, sound registrations, maps, screensavers, all in some way related to the NATO. In a limited number the website contains documents in Hungarian such as the text of the North Atlantic Treaty and the quarterly updated NATO-Tükör news magazine. The goal of Beosz (NOFA National Organization of Fraternal Associations) is to fulfil the idea drafted in their mission statement: The representatives of Fraternal Associations reached the common agreement to found the National Organization of Fraternal Associations with the aim of coordinating the activity of member associations, representing and protecting their interests on a national level. Observing the Constitution of the Hungarian Republic and law, protecting its spirit, NOFA wishes to guard national independence, cultivate patriotism and further the realization of governmental and social endeavours in the defence of the Republic. 5 is the website of the Centre for Military Administration and Data Processing of the Hungarian Armed Forces. The main task of the organization is the administration of the Hungarian Army s central registry in compliance with the regulations of the 2001/XCV Act regarding the legal status of professional and contractual soldiers and that of the 2004/CV Act concerning the Hungarian Defence Forces. is the website of Hungarian Association of Military Sports Clubs, which is not available at the moment. is a website dedicated to the presentation of the organizational structure of the Hungarian Defence Forces. With the help of animations we can find information about the Army Command, Air Force Command, Ground Forces Command and the Logistics Directorate. is the website of the Hungarian Army s Public Health Institute. As the Military Health Organization (MHO) of the Hungarian Army (HA) its main task is to assess the psychical and physical aptitude of the HA and 152 AARMS 10(1) (2011)

9 Ministry of Defence (MD) personnel; it also deals with occupational health screenings, the classification of dangerous professions, health education (health preservation and improvement, mental hygiene activities and their supervision); criminal forensic activities, applied researches in military and catastrophe medicine, science organization activities, preventions supervision of the HA health insurance, veterinary health insurance; public health, disease and environmental hygiene insurance; the insurance of nuclear, biological and chemical defence activities and the education related to these (postgraduate courses, trainings, prevention medicine); the development and administration of the HA Health Service IT system; tasks connected to health insurance and its enforcement, all in alignment with NATO requirements. Presently, only those can receive in-depth information about the professional army who are actively interested in the subject matter. In this changed communication medium a forum sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (Bevetés Klub Action Club) which addresses mainly young people or adults interested in military service as a career and life-long challenge, may attain a greater role. The club may become in the future an organization for communicating the values of military education which could ensure the transforming professional army new recruits, among many other things. Focusing on secondary school students, the aim of Bevetés Klub is to encourage young people to experience the intellectual and physical challenge of games and competitions and by doing so to familiarize them with military life. The further objective of the club is to widen young people s intellectual horizon thus helping their orientation in social issues. Such topics are further education, public health, environmental education and useful pastime. Knowledge acquisition in the club is based totally on experience. Bevetés Klub also promotes education outside the school, the development of young people s intellectual and physical capacities as well as their orientation towards the defence field. This latest initiative addresses students pursuing their studies in secondary education in particular. As the preface to the course book called Katonai alapismeretek (which can be found on the website) states: Familiarizing Hungarians with the basics of home defense is an important social interest. In this respect, the education and the training of the youth especially those of secondary school students are crucial, moreover, creating and improving their positive approach to the matter of home defense are also of utmost importance. AARMS 10(1) (2011) 153

10 The goal of the website is dual. First, it tries to call the attention to the opportunities implied in military life with its diverse and rich content and second, it contains a professional guide to the teaching of the subject basics of military that is to become a prerequisite to the high school diploma. As one can read on the homepage: The goal of the subject basics of military is to contribute to the carrier selection of the student in accordance with general educational objectives. The various topics built upon each other shall help to approve and develop the basic requirements regarding to the military profession. 6 Periodicals: the following can be found on the website of the Ministry of Defence Magyar Honvéd (issues from 2007) Honvéd Altiszt Folyóirat (issues from ) Új Honvédségi Szemle (issues from ) Humán Szemle (issues from , publication ceased) Aarms (issues from ) Hadmérnök (issues from ) Hadtudományi szemle (issues from ) Repüléstudományi közlemények (issues from ) Bolyai szemle (issues from ) Since my research has mainly focused on mapping new communication opportunities available on the Internet, I will not elaborate on these websites in details. Forums This is the space where public opinion meets the Hungarian Army as a social question in the must informal way. Users have the opportunity to share their thoughts and to react immediately. It s the fastest way of exchanging information having no spatial or temporal limitations. Forums are sites where people generally with similar interests exchange opinion on a given topic. Obviously, these opinions are usually lay, only in some cases professional. The most popular forums on the Hungarian Army are: The Hungarian Armed Forces lo longer exist one of the most popular forums started in 2003 (26952 comments) foreign legion (21988 comments) military (19340 comments) I don t want to be a soldier (5827 comments) 154 AARMS 10(1) (2011)

11 The high number of comments and the fact that these forums have been live communication meeting points for years, all underline the importance of Internet in establishing relationships. Obviously, the number rendered to comments does not equal the number of users, as there are many who express their opinion more times and on different forums. Thus the figures are unreliable; generally more people read forums than write comments. Computer games developed abroad The portrayal of military life and war events has become extremely popular in recent years. The majority of PC action games seek to render most accurately real military and soldier experience, but technically speaking this is, of course, not entirely possible at the present moment. My categorization of military games is based on their nature, purpose and the extent to which they are able to contribute to social experience. Noticing the popularity of military PC games the idea came: the development of an entirely realistic game based totally on the arsenal and tactics of the US Army. Since the army did not wish to make profit by the game, it is freely available for everyone interested and at the same time it meets high quality standards. Nowadays pilots receive their first take-off clearance only after hundreds of hours of flight simulation trainings. The difference between many flight simulators and real combat jets is that piloting the latter requires the use of some additional buttons. New strategy games emphasize real tactics foregrounding lifelike combat solutions rather than promoting the senseless shoot-them-up gaming style. The US Army came to the idea to start simulation training at an early age. For this reason they created a game with a graphic quality that competes with other games on the market. The game operates entirely with the US Army tactics system and is freely available, financed by public funds. Meant to school use, the software does not reproduce the Saving Private Ryan type of reality. The game was developed and published by the US Army with recruitment purposes, which is controversial on account that it promotes violence, however economically it is completely justified: its expenses are insignificant in comparison with the distribution of traditional posters, brochures and publicity spots, thus the investment was definitely worth for the American Army. At the end of the second millennium new means of recruitment were developed. In 1999 the American recruitment numbers hit their lowest point in 30 years, fact that highly challenged the country s decision makers. In response, the Congress called for AARMS 10(1) (2011) 155

12 aggressive, innovative experiments to find new soldiers, and the Defence Department jacked up recruitment budgets to $2.2 billion a year. In order to achieve higher recruitment rates army authorities searched and have found a new medium to reach target groups. The popularity of the Internet made it possible for the army to adopt offensive recruitment strategies. The daily use of the Internet, mainly by the youth representing the main target group of the army, offered naturally the various ways of online recruitment. After the moderate success of the campaign at the beginning, the US Army started a new promotion enriched with interactive elements. Making use of the popularity of Big Brother-like reality shows, the army redesigned its homepage ( presenting the basic military training in webisodes. According to the advertising agency responsible for the campaign: The online part of the campaign does not only present the personal experience of raw recruits during basic combat training but also enables users to address questions to the right person and to contact people with similar interests. Visitors will be able to follow the progress of raw recruits during basic combat training. Besides videos, visitors to the website can chose from 200 military jobs and professions, are able to chat with recruiters and future soldiers, as well as to make a virtual tour of Fort Jackson Basic Combat Training Camp. The purpose of the method is clear: to attract the anyway very patriotic American citizens to the army values and views. By the insight into combat training and by personal communication daily military life and its beauties can be presented more accurately. The use of Internet marketing opportunities has become more and more pronounced in the following period. The US Army launched their new recruitment campaign in which they employed new marketing initiatives, on November 11, 2006, that is on Veterans Day. November 11 was initially the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I; however in 1954 it became a federal holiday honouring military veterans of World War II. Taking advantage of this holiday and American patriotism the US Army launched their new recruitment campaign. Besides publicity spots, another constituent of the campaign was the creation of a website which features videos about the daily life of soldiers of different ranks and information about military career. The Army also established contact with multinational companies, such as Yahoo, Google or YouTube, in order to get even closer to the target group, namely young people 18 to 25 years, as the Internet is the most significant information medium of this age group. The main reason for the new campaign was the same old problem: since World War II the number of soldiers serving in the US Army gradually decreased. The Iraqi war affected also negatively young people s willingness to join the army. The 156 AARMS 10(1) (2011)

13 American Army hoped that by the publicity campaign designed together with McCann Workgroup Agency they will be able to convince the youth and their parents about the advantages of military vocation, thus solving the army s recruitment problems. 7 The moderate successes of the campaign, the growing popularity of violent war games as well as the spreading of online games determined American decision makers to revise their policy in this field. While earlier certain games considered too violent could be procured with age limit exclusively from the army s shops, the US Army now appeared as a publishing competitor on the market of military video games. The American Ministry of Defence created its own game developers community, with its main task to unite developers games created for the American Army. It has become obvious in the past few years that there is strong demand for these in civil life as well. Exemplary is the success of America s Army or Full Spectrum Warrior, which have been used in the army for combat training purposes. The project offers developers the opportunity to cooperate. 8 The next greater leap was the $2 million contract of the US Army Ground Forces with Global Gaming League (GGL), a games website. According to the agreement the army sponsors the organization from June, In return the website carries out recruitment activity among the 9.2 million players, the 80% of whom are men 17 to 24 years. According to Gary Bishop, in charge of revising and reforming army marketing, soldiers must adapt to the online world, since it represents an excellent ground to reach young people. (The huge popularity of game sites is exploited by other advertisers as well. According to the Yankee Group s report in the United States the income of the advertising field was $164 million last year, and is expected to reach $732 million until 2009). The masterpiece of the US Army s online recruitment campaign is definitely the video game America s Army. It is an FPS war-game, which has been created, besides for pleasure, with the purpose of promoting the American Army to the public, of making military vocation more attractive and of orienting the most capable to recruitment offices. The success of the game is obvious, as on the release day of the demo version Operation Recon on July 4, 2002, it was downloaded from the official website by 1 million people. The popularity of the game can be explained by various features, out of which there are two to be mentioned, as these have been kept to the present. Firstly, the game is for free downloading after a quick registration on the official website. Secondly, in quality the game can compete with any other pay-to-play game in its category. The success of the game has reached levels beyond expected. Since its release in 2002 the number of players has reached eight million from sixty different countries. AARMS 10(1) (2011) 157

14 Another sign of its popularity is that in thirty-eight countries more than two thousand servers have been registered showing two hundred million game hours. Other war games : First person shooter games emerged shortly after the Gulf-war, and ever since they have been produced in wide variety, all recalling the main events of history. The most popular are: Battlefield 1942; Medal of Honor (set in the battlefields of World War II) ); Army Ranger: Mogadishu (modern era war-game simulating the Somali battles in 1993 ) Swat; Rainbow six; Blackhawk down. Computer Games Developed in Hungary Hungarian users are naturally also familiar with the game, proven by the Hungarian language fan site and the presence of a Hungarian team among the best 10 in the hall of fame is a strategy game based on the events of the Hungarian Revolution and Independence War of During the game the player s main task is to command the army on the theatre of war. The game was released with the recommendation of the Minister of Education: It is particularly attractive for the youth that all this is offered in the context of a strategy PC game. It is favourable from the point of view if history education that the game is not fiction-based and merely violent, but presents an important part of the Hungarian history. Concerning the description of the era, it is important that the game features authentic scenes, equipment and uniforms. Hence, it might be interesting for adults, teachers and parents as well. Players will get an unforgettable personal experience of the freedom war fought for the independence of the Hungarian nation. This is why the Ministry of Education makes the game freely available for all interested. Accessible under: Pro libertate: similar to the above mentioned game, the era is different. The game simulates the Rákóczi s War for Independence and the American Revolution helping the players acquire vast knowledge of the subject matter. Among the patrons of the game we can find again the Ministry of Education. Available under: Dongó Company: the game is set in a real historic situation, but it is characterized by virtual game mode. Virtuális Keleti Front Virtual Eastern Front (VEF) is an online war game. VEF does not stand for either the Soviet Union or the NAZI ideology. The main purpose of the game is creating an online community, and as such playing for 158 AARMS 10(1) (2011)

15 pleasure. VEF treats historical past respectfully, paying homage to victims on both sides. The site contains useful information about the history of the Dongó Company, later introducing the player to the game beginning with the events of World War II from 1941 on the side of axis powers of course. Available under: Hunyadi hadai: The aim of this multi-level strategy game is to entertain and at the very same time to help users experience and understand this victorious but obscure era in Hungarian history. With the presentation of the above mentioned various contents and links my aim was to draw attention upon the fact that the opportunities for the presence of the Hungarian Armed Forces on the Internet is almost inexhaustible. Irrespective of age, education everybody can discover some point of interest which promotes a better understanding of the subject area. This versatility from the army s point of view, however, implies that the Hungarian Armed Forces in planning employment strategies must not neglect the Internet as a means of communication, which as a result of suitable development can become an effective means of recruitment. Besides the traditional elements and communication platforms, the army must lay emphasis on its active presence on the World Wide Web, since, in my view, this is the key of creating and maintaining a positive image of military life. Making good use of the impressive means of communication the Hungarian Armed Forces will have far better chances in the labour market competition. Conclusions At the turn of the millennium the accelerated scientific-technological revolution has posed both substantial challenges and offered great opportunities for the Hungarian Armed Forces. The transition to volunteer-based military resulted in various changes, which are all centred on the idea of a knowledge-based army. In an ever-changing economic and social environment the most important task of the defence field is to ensure the appropriate amount and quality of labour force. Entering the labour market competition, the Hungarian Armed Forces had to deal with competitors from the civil sphere. Nowadays it is even more important to improve the image of the army in the society, a long-lasting process, the success of which highly depends on carefully planned marketing strategies. The age group of potential army employees can be well-defined. I believe that the percentage of daily Internet users of years is above average in the society. Furthermore, I am convinced that this age group can be targeted most effectively AARMS 10(1) (2011) 159

16 through the Internet. This paper aims to examine some possible ways of online recruiting, also presenting the most important Hungarian Internet pages with military content. Considering the nature of the Internet my selection is subjective and the Internet pages are subject to constant change. My intention was to draw attention upon the possibilities offered by the effective use of communication channels. References 1. SZABÓ JÁNOS: A társadalom megváltozott viszonya az önkéntes haderxhöz, Humán Szemle, 2005/4 p dec 15, dec 15, SZABONE SZABO ANDREA: A Magyar Honvédség arculati elemei. Hadtudomány, X/ dec 15, dec 15, dec 15, dec 15, AARMS 10(1) (2011)