Navy Considers 'Wii Fit' and 'DDR' to Whip Recruits into Shape

It seems as though water should be involved somehow in Navy fitness!

Parents of recruits who need this type of "training" should be ashamed. Maybe the recruits can dance around like idiots to bad techno while an officer douses them with a cups of water (a fire hose, even a garden hose may be too much to handle).

As a NAVY vet i think its a super idea. However if your old enought to join the military your old enought to know that a proper diet is VERY IMPORTANT.The military can only do so much. I am 69 and use wii fit everyday for 2 hours.

This is the dumbest shit I have ever heard! How about training them to be real fighters instead of techno warriors? Makes me sick just thinking about it.

There are many ways to get a recruit into shape, and video games are not the answer. This is nothing more then what is going to become an over priced contract that will not produce expected results. Let the RDC trian with a PT matrix that will challange a recruit.

train them like the old days blood and sweat

I'm a Navy vet from the 60s. I was about to be drafted in Dec 1965 so I opted to join the Navy. At 24 yrs old I thought I had better work on getting in shape before I went to basic training. I assumed that I would be in a training company with a bunch of 18 year old, fairly fit, young men. I spent three months working out, running, lifting weights etc. before I had to report. Turns out that I was in better shape then just about everyone in the training company. By the time my 11 weeks in basic training was over I was almost back to where I started. Most of the company were issued 1901 Springfield rifles to march with. Every AM after inspection we would go through an exercise drill swinging those rifles around in time to some martial music. That was it! The rest of the time was spent marching to classes on seamanship, Navy tradition etc. Exercise was secondary to the whole process. I discovered that the best way to stay in shape was to go to PT with the Marine detachment. I did this at 2 air station and for 2 years aboard ship. I,m 68 years old, ride a bicycle 300 miles per week, ski all winter and do some backpacking in the summer. Fitness pays dividends!!!

I'm going to defer to the military man Mike, and a Navy guy at that, on this one. He offered his credentials in his post. At age 69 he likely served during the Nam era. Do any of the naysayers have credible military service or are you just posers?

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. On one hand, video games like this are very popular and could make the transition easier. However, when I went through boot camp, the transition was not all that difficult. It was a natural change that was almost unnoticed until graduation. Introducing video games might just make the change from civilian to sailor less meaningful or effective. Boot camp is meant to cut you off from everything. The isolation and unknown surroundings help make the change.
I saw firsthand that many recruits were in very poor physical condition. However, Navy boot camp is nowhere near as strenuous as other branches. Even when I went through the (then) new spec ops version of boot, the PT was borderline ridiculous. So I have mixed feelings. It's understandable why this is being considered, but the fact that it is considered bugs me, knowing how physically undemanding Navy boot camp is. And one last thought, I agree there should be more water training in Navy boot camp. Personally, I went through many pool workouts for our version, but for regular divisions, water training is at most a day or two. Pass the quals and you don't have to do any more. Should be adding more.

I have to agree with mgrtec1. In high school I was on the football team, swim team and track team so when I joined the navy in 1968 in I was in relatively good shape but not necessarily the best. I was 6 feet tall and weighed 190 pounds. We ran the obstacle course one time because that was all that was required. It was not even a timed run. We marched everywhere in formation but if we were going somewhere alone we were supposed to double time. Our rifles had the barrels full of lead and we used them in to do a 16-count manual, basicly a fairly short upper body workout. Punishment extended the use of the rifle to a 96-count manual. Still a basic upper body workout. I gained 35 pounds in 11 weeks of boot camp due to lack of exercise.

This is ok if they do it during a break.... But the wii cant compare to real workouts.

The sad part is that this country in general has gone this badly to "pot". I spent 20 years in the Navy ('75 -95) and much of it didn't have solid PT standards. They did institute PT testing in the 90's, and I needed to work out so I wouldn't remediate, or possibly not make the final re enlistment. After I got out, I didn't keep up with it, so I am having to work up to some stamina and endurance again, which sucks, but I am totally the one responsible for my situation. My son, now living off his mother, is too fat to enlist. It is a sad state. If this helps, then go for it. But you have to institute standards and provide opportunities to exercise.

WHAT A CROCK OF CRAP!!! HIT THE DECK AND GIVE ME 50 YOU*^&#_)*(%^
HOW ABOUT BOOT CAMP THE OLD FASHION WAY!!!