JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Senior Airman Angel Garcia, from the 3rd Maintenance Squadron at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, traveled to Patrick Space Force Base, Florida, to represent JBER in the spring 2022 Department of the Air Force Gaming League Halo finals. While competing, he successfully beat a European Union team, but was eliminated in the final round against the opposing team, Buff Bois. Ultimately, Garcia and his team placed 3rd in the tournament.
The DAFGL is the official gaming and e-sports program for the Air Force, currently housed under the Air Force Services Center.
Its mission is to create an inclusive gaming community for Airmen and Guardians of all ages, ranks, and backgrounds. The DAFGL community is open to a wide range of active-duty service members, Reserve members, Air National Guardsmen, veterans, and family members.
Garcia says joining the DAFGL is easier than one would think; the first step is to register at airforcegaming.com and join the DAFGL Discord channel. After that, players will be able to go to any of the DAFGL competition pages to form a team with other players. Once their team is
signed up for one of the DAFGL competitions, they’ll use the website to check on their assigned matches and report scores.
“I would tell anyone who wants to play who is active-duty, National Guard, or Reserve, or dependents (for some games, mostly minor leagues), that it offers great opportunities to meet new people and play games at a competitive level with the chance to win prizes – or in my case, a temporary duty assignment,” said Garcia.
Garcia believes video games have contributed to developing his technical skills as an Airman.
“I think video games can help develop skills such as hand-eye coordination, reflexes, and so on,” Garcia said. “This translates into day-to-day activities in every Air Force Specialty Code.”
Not only does Garcia impress in the gaming community, but in the workplace as well. Tech. Sgt. Christopher Dente, 3rd MXS Aircraft Structural Maintenance craftsman and section chief, said Garcia has been a major asset to ASM and the 3rd MXS since arriving at JBER in October 2019.
“He is a positive addition to everything he is involved in,” Dente said. “It is little surprise the Pacific Air Forces Team would claim a position in the 2022 Halo Infinite World Finals with Garcia by their side.”
During his time, Garcia and the rest of the competitors were treated to special events such as a tour of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, a meet-and-greet with the F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team, and a viewing of the Orbital Test Flight 2 launch.
The Department of the Air Force Gaming League is the official internal gaming program for the Air Force and Space Force. Their competitions and Discord community are open to any Airman or Guardian.