Discord: The Lifeline We Don't Talk About for Deployed Troops

The country is having a moment of reckoning about loneliness and disconnection. While this is a very important conversation to have, it seems that no one is talking about deployed troops, but we should be.

I have been in the Navy for over 20 years now, and every deployment means long stretches away from my wife, my family, and friends scattered across the country. Different schedules and time zones make it hard to just pick up the phone when someone back home is free, and the small, regular conversations most people take for granted are the first thing to slip.

Gaming has been a big part of what has kept those connections alive for me and a lot of guys I've served with. Platforms like Discord, Steam Chat, and TeamSpeak give us a way to chat while we play, so catching up happens naturally instead of feeling like an obligation. You're just there, working toward the same objective, and an hour goes by before you realize you've caught up on someone's whole week. For, me during deployments, it is easy it is to feel isolated, or simply miss the people I’m used to having around. For me, gaming became an easy way to stay connected. A regular game night or a quick conversation online gave me a reason to check in with friends without having to make a formal call or admit that I was feeling lonely. Sometimes those casual conversations—talking about the game, joking around, or hearing what someone had been up to—were exactly what I needed to feel connected again.

Traditional gamers aren't the only people relying on these platforms. For a junior enlisted service member at their first duty station far from home, a child trying to stay connected with a parent during a long deployment, or a lifelong friend reminding a soldier they have something waiting for them when they return, these platforms provide more than entertainment. They help people stay connected when distance would otherwise pull them apart.

The need may look different from one person to the next, but the purpose is the same: maintaining relationships across miles and time zones. That impact is reflected in the Entertainment Software Association's 2025 Veterans Survey, where 78% of veteran gamers said gaming boosted morale and strengthened camaraderie during their military service.

A game doesn't replace a homecoming or a face-to-face conversation. But it gives people a reason to show up for each other, week after week, until the deployment ends or the distance closes some other way. For a lot of us, that's not a small thing.

Bill McCorckle & Dan Telford

US Navy