Call it Canadian Forces 2.0.

First there were posters beckoning "Join Us," then television ads showing soldiers manning fighter jets and rescue ships. Now, how the military relays its message is changing ranks again -- embracing social media as its newest communication tool.

The arsenal of online offerings includes official pages on Facebook, podcasts accessible by iTunes, photos and videos on Flickr and YouTube, and several Twitter accounts.

Just like soldiers and camouflage, the burgeoning tech-savvy approach naturally mobilizes youthful reception.

"If it helps us reach an audience that, say, doesn't watch (CBC's) 'The National' or doesn't read the Globe and Mail, then I think we're doing a better job of communicating," said Capt. Andrew Hennessy, who mans a brand-new Facebook page and Twitter feed for Ontario's Canadian Forces Base Petawawa.

"Which is ultimately the goal of all this."

As the 27-year-old public relations officer for the Ontario base, Hennessy began building its online presence after pondering the popularity of social media and realizing the widespread reach it could have. He now tweets updates and posts interesting links and news releases to the Facebook site.

"Maybe it generates more interest, which hopefully generates more traffic to our site, which hopefully generates more support for what we're doing," he said.

"Because ultimately it's the understanding of what Canadian soldiers do that leads people to support them."

While Hennessy estimates the majority of followers are between the ages of 13 and 25, he said he personally has not been using it for recruitment purposes. But he added "the sky's the limit" when it comes to the possible applications it has in the future.

At Department of National Defence headquarters in Ottawa, however, Maj. Doug Allison says the Forces are purposefully tapping social media for two reasons. First, to reach a broad audience and second, because it's among the best ways of reaching the demographic the military wants to recruit.

"Hopefully what we're saying or showing them is compelling enough that they're interested and will want to explore a little more," he said.

They appear to be striking a chord.

"I find that the Forces are probably doing hip stuff to get to younger people and get more people noticing them, because the way it was working before it wasn't really working for them too much," suggested Jacqueline Labao, 24, who works at CFB Petawawa.

She's currently in the process of enlisting, while her boyfriend is already full-fledged infantry, and said the online community boosts pride and helps bonding among its members.

"This is a great way to reach us," she said. "Because no matter where you end up -- whatever base, whatever course, whatever deployment -- that's your only connection to the rest of the world most of the time, is the Internet."

Jenna Hoquet, whose husband just returned from a nine-month tour in Afghanistan, said the military's move to embrace social media is helping her make connections.

"When you see the news, you see a reporter who doesn't really know all that much because they're not in our situation," said the 23-year-old, who recently moved from CFB Petawawa to CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick.

"But in Facebook groups you talk to other military wives, you talk to other soldiers who have been there, who have done it, who are in the process of doing it."

Having an online presence is a good way for the military to increase its visibility and bolster its branding, said professor Mary McGuire, who teaches her students about social media in an online journalism course at Carleton University.

"But in order to develop a following, you will have to do more than just issue news releases," she said.