For the Pentagon, it's another shocking case of buyer's remorse.

The US Army cut a deal with the United Football League (UFL) and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson as it struggled with an epic recruitment crisis.

But the high-profile deal fell flat on its face, according to internal documents and emails seen by Military.com.

The wrestler and actor's promotional social media posts failed to win a single recruit, and may have led to fewer newbies enlisting.



The force is reportedly trying to recoup $6 million from the ill-fated $11 million deal.

'We are in the process of working with the UFL to determine the final cost,' Army spokesperson Laura DeFrancisco told the outlet.

The Pentagon and the UFL did not reply to The Mail's requests for comment.

The Army inked the deal earlier this year with the UFL, a new minor league alternative to the NFL that has so far struggled to gain attention.



It was focussed on Army branding at UFL games, including its logo appearing on players' uniforms.

But it also included Johnson, the superstar co-owner of the league, who was expected to elevate a force that is some 20,000 short of recruitment targets.

Johnson was supposed to serve as some kind of brand ambassador and make five posts to his 396 million Instagram followers, the files show.

Each post was calculated as being worth some $1 million in exposure.

However, the former WWE fighter only made two posts, it is claimed.



One showed him with some generals, including Gen. Randy George, the Army chief of staff, who was involved in the promotional tie-up.

Another was clips of his tour of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland.

Col. Dave Butler, a spokesperson for George, in a statement called it 'unfortunate' that Johnson 'pulled away at a time when we expected him to be present with us to create content for his social media channels.'

'But we're working with the UFL to rebalance the contract. The Rock remains a good partner to the Army,' he added.







Johnson reportedly only made two of the five social media posts that were discussed in the deal



The UFL's lackluster viewership and the lack of Johnson's posting led to recriminations within the Army, the files show.

By one tally, the force ended up with 38 fewer recruits than they would have gotten by focusing money and promotions elsewhere.

The emails show that some Army staffers warned that the enterprise was doomed all along.



UFL viewership was too small to warrant the multimillion dollar price tag, they had said.

One insider critic compared it to the National Guard's $88 million NASCAR sponsorship deal, which similarly failed to net a single recruit.

Another Army promotional deal with the NCAA, for example, costs about twice the UFL deal but attracts ten times as many eyeballs to the service.

Other messages show woes in dealing with the UFL's 'inexperienced' staff and how communications with them often broke down.



The files paint a picture of a service that's scrambling to find new ways to reach recruits amid tectonic shifts in the media landscape.

The military typically promotes itself on cable TV-style ads and in deals with traditional television sports broadcasts.

But the Gen Z youngsters they need in military fatigues are tuned into social media and their cellphones nowadays.

Getting Johnson on board may have been an effort to get parents of potential recruits keen on Army careers for their Gen Z offspring.










A member of the 82nd Airborne Division feeds her five-month-old child at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where poverty, hardship, and food insecurity are rife




Megan Sweeney, a former federal government communications advisor, said the doomed deal showcased how the Army lacked know-how in social media tie-ups with big-name celebrities.

'While the Army may have thought they were getting The Rock, they were instead primarily getting a partnership with a minor football league,' Sweeney told Fortune.



'The Rock is an investor of the UFL, but it's not like he's on the sidelines of every game. As a result, the Army seems to have paid Hollywood-level sponsorship money for minor-league exposure.'

The US military faces a recruitment crisis because Gen Zers are less inclined than previous generations to pout on a uniform and risk their lives in combat.

Worse still, many of them are just not fit enough to enlist.

Meanwhile, those who are currently weaving increase warn potential recruits against signing up.



Barely a third of military families would recommend a career in uniform, says the latest survey to highlight problems at the Pentagon.

Back in 2016, more than half of them spoke highly of a military career.

They said life was getting worse because military spouses could not get jobs, health services were poor, and housing was shabby.

That's according to a survey of more than 7,400 personnel for Blue Star Families, a nonprofit.


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Guess everything falls apart when white conservative men aren't willing to die in wars anymore.

I'm glad things like this fall apart and become reported about in the news.  It gives people a real glimpse behind the curtain.

Let it sink in clearly; your Govt is taking your money and giving it to rich celebrities to get your children to enlist in the military.

authorize beards and watch recruitment and retention skyrocket

They could of given 11 people a million dollars as a sign on bonus and at least got 11 people out of it.  Hell give one fella 11 MILLION SIGN ON BONUS AND STILL COME OUT +1 COMPARED TO THE ROCK.

Where is that laughing guy meme when I need it.

Fuck em .

Something chickens something something to roost.

Those uniforms look like diesel punk Cosplay. I weep for the Army I use to be a part of.

There are probably some celebrities who would have done the PR stuff free of charge.  
As if it were some sort of civic duty

Weird. It’s almost as if recruiting requires something other than Hollywood. Hmmmm what could it be…. Hmmmm. It’s not making America more patriotic, that’s misogynistic. Love for our homeland? Oh hell no that’s racist.

I got nothing. Sorry.

Have you tried a tic tok dancing general video?

I've got an idea that would A. improve moral of the existing recruits, B. improve recruitment and retention, and C. Save them money immediately (and demonstrably).

It'll cost them $5mil (my consulting fee), but that's a fraction of the deal they cut with their previous attempts.

Step 1: Cancel DEI immediately. All programs, all courses, all positions associated with it, and all funds for said programs, from the pentagon down to the lowest enlistment classes.

Step 2: Fire all military combat lawyers and rewrite our military mission in one sentence. Our troops are deployed for one reason, and ONLY EVER one reason: Total destruction of the enemy, or the advancement/support of this mission.

Step 3: Fire all VA and benefit management positions. Rehire positions with the focus on the total healthcare for veterans, nothing more nothing less. The second a complaint is lodged, that person/doctor/whoever is investigated and terminated if they have even the smallest whiff of incompetence. We must treat this program as any other mission: failure is not an option.

There you go. Three simple steps to improve the military recruitment and retention, and you don't have to spend one penny on advertising. Ta Da. That'll be $5,000,000 please. I take checks.

I’ve never heard of the UFL, so there’s that.

My sample is not scientific, its just what I see and hear from frequently being on an Army base and talking to friends still on active duty with the USCG.

Morale isn't low, it simply doesn't exist.
Wokeness and all the mandatory training is out of control.
DEI is everywhere in leadership positions.  
Military bearing was tossed in the dumpster.
Subpar people know they are safe.

This list could go on forever but you get the point.  Our military needs a complete overhaul, starting at the top.

Just tell the truth.

Our politicians will abandon you on the battlefield and if you make it out alive we will abandon you on the streets at home. Thank you for making our friends rich, oh and for your service too.

Someone may appreciate the honesty. I bet you get more than zero to sign up.

I am on an active-duty base regularly, I see beards everywhere.

I don't think that's the issue...

Imagine what that money could have done for regular citizens or servicemen. What a waste. Fuck the Rock.

Keep tripling down on stupid and keep guessing why you keep falling short.  

What conservative male wants to be associated with this shit?  

Fuck that guy.

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The Rock lies about everything, to include trivialities like his daily caloric intake, or how many first-times he's eaten In-N-Out.

It's comical.

I would be curious how they are able to correlate zero recruits as a result of a campaign.

How do they know these programs failed to recruit people?

Is there a box to fill out that says: "how did you find out about us?"??

LMFAO yeah, sign me RIGHT the fuck up for that bullshit.

I want massive testosterone in my military. I want killers. I want grade-a motherfuckers that can take orders and execute missions.

What the fuck is that? SMGDH.

When did The Rock become "A-List" ?

This seems very hard to prove.

We should just arm the US Women's National Soccer Team.  They're mean and angry already. Three weeks at Airborne School and send them off to do the nation's business. Multiple problems solved.

What the fuck is an A-list.

The US Army taught me a great deal - things on how to be a better leader, a better man, a better soldier and infantryman and it took a boat load of eating shit, dealing with problems, and being mentally tough to do that.

Nowadays most potential recruits (especially combat arms) are smart enough to do the homework before they sign up and they see the dumb shit and retardation too.

Combine that with a (current) peacetime garrison life Army that's built on coddling shit bag fuck stains that do nothing but occupy space - yeah fuck that.

The Army I served in no longer exists outside of some very very specific units.

Tie military pay to welfare.

Like an enlisted man with 10-years of service ought to get at least half of what something sitting on their ass makes on welfare.

We pay people a lot of money to not work.

Dwane Johnson is incredibly annoying.

Is Johnson really A list? He can't carry a movie.  I'm thinking B list

Hand out free mustangs and Chargers if you sign up for a 4 year stint and make it thru basic and AIT. You get sent to the Ukraine if you decide to fail to adapt after AIT and if you get preggo you get booted with a DD and must pay back the cost of the vehicle.

He never does anything unless it lifts up his image amongst the public or his fans or whatever. It's so seriously obsessively curated and crafted, I couldn't even begin to tell you what the dude actually believes or knows or wants.

He just sort of exists to star in next action movie requiring a roided out dude who demands he never loses a fight on screen.

I dare say his image is more crafted than Taylor Swift's and hers is insane.

He's pretty ''red'' if you listen to what he says.

The Jumanji and F&F movies have made a ton of money

Kids are being taught guns are icky and dangerous and nobody needs to own a weapon. Then they wonder why kids don't want to join the military and shoot scary guns.

Kinda depends on which war we’re talking about.

Not if all I'm seeing is his big ass forehead.

If you get out with a 70%+ disability rating chances are good you will get another $600,000+ and free medical care. The military payoff is on the back end.

People are finally getting wise and not willing to die for military industrial complex stock growth.

The knockoff WW2 uniforms are awful.

Yep

Yet another example of why the Chinese are gonna stomp the hell out of us.

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Just follow the money.

This has merit

And a lot of people don't know it until they get there. My medical has been not too bad with no major surgeries or problems but I take care of myself too. A lot of the other guys and gals don't and this is what logically pisses me off the most.

Got lung cancer and diabetes and still smoking Marlboro reds and eating cupcakes?

I'm like, the fuck outta hea on my dime buddy!

Gorilla jizz targets if you ask me.

Why shame the greatest generation like that anyway?

Fucking discusting is what it is.

I like the Army's new service uniform, but the fake 50 mission crush looks stupid.

nope, that all reeks of misogyny and white privilege

Didn’t the Army secretary just say that recruiting has rebounded for this year thanks to their fat camp program?