F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. – -- Many military members are known to have a friendly, competitive nature. Airman 1st Class Logan LeJeune, 90th Comptroller Squadron financial operations technician, is not lacking this trait – a trait that helped him and his team win the e-Sports Commander’s Cup.
“The competitive nature of playing in tournaments is what keeps me hooked,” said LeJeune. “I enjoy the grind with my team and seeing our improvement. Then being able to perform under pressure when everything is on the line is an incredible feeling.”
LeJeune competed in the Commander’s Cup at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, May 13, 2023. The Commander’s Cup is an e-Sports competition hosted by the USO, where teams from each of the U.S. service branches compete for the trophy and championship.
LeJeune’s opportunity to compete in this competition did not come by luck, but by practice and hard work with his two teammates. To decide who would travel to Florida, Department of the Air Force e-Sports hosted an online tournament with eight U.S. Air Force teams. LeJeune and his two teammates beat out the other seven teams while playing Rocket League, and were selected to be the representatives at the cup.
The championship competition was a double elimination format where competitors played to best of 5 in the Rocket League game. The Air Force team beat out the U.S. Marine Corps team first, then the U.S. Coast Guard team before heading to the final, a best of seven round against
the U.S. Army.
“In the final, we won the first three games, then lost the fourth,” said LeJeune. “We could feel the pressure and the other team’s confidence increasing, so I realized I had to step up and make a big play. In game five, I scored three goals to secure the tournament win.”
When he is not playing video games, LeJeune is responsible for financial in-processing, including permanent change of station entitlements, gaining members to the base and updating pay records. He is also a safety representative for his unit and recently sponsored a new Airman to the base.
However, he still makes sure to find adequate time to play his video games when he is off duty. He and his teammates meet online to scrimmage other teams about three times a week, but he plays by himself almost daily.
“It is important for the military to show support for its members’ hobbies,” said LeJeune. “The support and opportunities that are being provided to the e-Sports community now is important because it promotes inclusion and resilience as well as improving morale.”
LeJeune and his teammates will be traveling to Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany, in June for a competition against participants from North Atlantic Treaty Organization nations.