In its ongoing effort to boost recruiting, the Army has launched a new digital engagement tool aimed at streamlining the recruitment process for recruiters and future soldiers.

The Prep for Success Digital Engagement Experience program is designed to make it easier for recruiters and recruits to connect in an immersive digital environment and easily discuss Army service, including information on the application process, practicing for the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, selecting the right job, preparing for basic training, life in the Army and the Army’s mission.

“This app is a possible game changer for our organization,” Maj. Gen. Johnny Davis, commander of Army Recruiting Command, said in an Army news release. “Not only does it help prepare future Soldiers for the Army, it bridges the gap between the public and the Army and gives our recruiters the capability to identify and attract future talent.”

The program uses the Sandboxx app, a mobile platform designed in 2012 to facilitate communication between service members and their families and friends, offering a range of resources including photo and document sharing, according to the news release.

Applications designed to serve as training aides and information guides for potential recruits are easily downloaded onto their smartphones at no cost, providing recruiters with a new tool that is expected to make it easier for them to do their mission, the release said.

“This digital engagement experience intends to be a valuable tool for anyone entering the U.S. Army and for the hardworking recruiters making that happen,” Maj. Gen. Deborah Kotulich, director of the Army Recruiting and Retention Task Force, said in the release.

The task force partnered with Recruiting Command to develop the tool last fall.

The Prep for Success Digital Engagement Experience program is one of several Army initiatives as the service fights through the most difficult recruiting environment in decades. Army leaders have said they expect to fall short of this year’s goal of recruiting 65,000 soldiers. The Army missed last year’s recruiting goal of 60,000 by about 15,000 people.

Sgt. Trawn Smith, a recruiter assigned to the Clifton Park, New York, recruiting station, said he has already found some success with the app. “It is easily accessible and better than social media,” he said in the news release. “I can take my bar code, print it out, post it around my recruiting table at a high school or event, and allow anyone to quickly start learning about the Army.”

Trawn said his applicants have enjoyed the app because “it is easy to use and they are learning the many things the Army offers, especially how many different jobs exist.”