Capture the Flag -- Navy Increases Awareness of Command Missions with Virtual Game

From Defense Media Activity, Navy

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy Office of Information announced Aug. 16 that the official U.S. Navy Facebook page is putting a new spin on an old game by challenging Facebook fans to a virtual "Capture the Flag" game.

The game officially begins Monday, Aug. 22 at 8 a.m. local time for each participating command, and will run through Aug. 26.

Traditionally, the game of capture the flag is played outdoors with two teams that have a flag strategically placed in their territory. The objective is to capture the other team's flag, in their own territory, and bring it back to your own base.

The Navy's version of Capture the Flag brings that competition to Navy Facebook fans around the world by attacking and defending a virtual "flag" which is actually a unique photo created by each participating command.

Instead of being picked for a team, Facebook fans can join any team they choose by uploading the team's banner to their profile picture. The banner will be available as a photo on the command's page. Fans are encouraged to attack their opponent by "liking" the opposing commands "flag" each day. They can defend their own team's flag by writing a positive comment on their own page's "flag" each day. At the end of the day the attacks and defends are tallied and a percentage of the teams will move on to the next round beginning at 8 a.m. the next day.

For simplicity, other rules associated with the traditional capture the flag game were eliminated for the Navy version.

The purpose of the virtual Capture the Flag game is to give each participating Navy command an opportunity to talk about their unique mission while bracketed with another command of a different mission. Healthy competition and team pride by unique Navy commands are what motivates the fans to participate.

"Navy Facebook fans are very interested in Sailors and the work they do," said Lt. Lesley Lykins, director of emerging media integration for the Navy. "Our Capture the Flag game is another fun way for Americans to support their favorite Sailors and commands and learn what other commands do to support our overall mission."

Each day, a winning command returns pitted against another winning command as both advance in the bracket and deliver a new message to their fans about their mission. Commands will post their flag each day at 8 a.m. local time for that command. As teams are eliminated, fans can switch their alliance to a new team to continue playing the game.

Each evening, the U.S. Navy Facebook page will announce which commands have been eliminated and which are still playing. On Aug. 26 at noon, the overall winner of Capture the Flag will be announced and featured the following week in the U.S. Navy Facebook page profile picture, with the winning command's flags "flying" on the Navy page throughout the week.

To learn more about the U.S. Navy's virtual version of "Capture the Flag" visit the U.S. Navy Facebook page at facebook.com/USNavy.

There are more than 355,000 fans of the U.S. Navy Facebook page and 521 commands on the U.S. Navy Social Media Directory.