Personally, I think this sounds great. I can’t wait to buy a couple for my little nephew (the wrestler). I find Time Magazine’s dishonestly in the first sentence quite telling of their agenda.

Faced by a dwindling number of volunteers, the U.S. military is adding a new recruitment tactic: aiming young. Real Heroes, a line of Army-authorized toy soldiers modeled on Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, is expected in stores this June, selling for $12.99 each. The first four 6-in.-tall dolls–offshoots of a Pentagon-backed video game called America’s Army–are based on four real soldiers, all still serving, who have recently earned Bronze or Silver Stars.

TIME.com: RealAmerican Heroes – Six Inches Tall — Apr. 10, 2006 — Page 1

Mudville Gazette recently did a posting on the truth about recruiting numbers: Volunteers

UPDATE 4/5/06 4:50pm: In doing a bit more checking on these Action Figures I found that they have been available for more than a year. Also found the link for ordering the Figures:

Army Game Gear and each Figure is $9.99.

From RadioActiveClown:

The U.S. Army today announced it has signed an agreement with action figure manufacturer Radioactive Clown to create and distribute the America’s Army action figure series product lines. Based on the Army’s wildly popular America’s Army PC game (www.americasarmy.com) which allows players to explore Soldiering in the U.S. Army, the America’s Army action figures will appear in two product lines – “America’s Army Soldier� action figures and “America’s Army Real Hero� action figures.

The first line, America’s Army Soldier, is comprised of high-quality, detailed figures of U.S. Army roles such as Special Forces Intelligence Sergeant, Special Forces Medic, and Special Forces Weapons Sergeant from the America’s Army game. Radioactive Clown has worked closely with Special Forces Soldiers (Green Berets and Rangers) to ensure the accuracy and authenticity of the Soldiers, weapons and accessories.

These six inch tall figures, which can be posed in many configurations, will feature weapons such as M4s or M16s as well as other authentic accessories including night vision goggles, hand grenades, and smoke grenades. The figures will be introduced Summer 2005.

The second line, America’s Army Real Hero, will feature the likenesses of actual U.S. Army Soldiers who have participated in the War on Terror and received commendations for their heroism. These action figures will be part of the America’s Army Real Hero program which will highlight heroic Soldiers in a variety of mediums. The figures will be introduced in the second half of 2005.

Their timing must be off a bit. But here’s a few pictures from their site:

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