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US Navy Considering Wii Fit and DDR For Boot Camp
almehdaaol writes "New military recruits are coming in physically heavier and out of shape, so the US Navy has decided to take an interesting course of action by creating a new training regimen inspired by the fitness-centric Wii Fit and Dance Dance Revolution."
This comes alongside a report confirming some of the BS we told our parents when we were growing up: "Bavelier said playing the kill-or-be-killed games can improve peripheral vision and the ability to see objects at dusk, and the games can even be used to treat amblyopia, or lazy eye, a disorder characterized by indistinct vision in one eye. She said she believes the games can improve math performance and other brain tasks."
Considering that so many young Americans are obese that it's affected our military's ability to recruit, I'd say just about anything may be worth a try.
Fatness in the US has become a threat to national security.
At least with the end of Don't Ask/Don't Tell we might have a better chance of having physically fit people enlist.
You are welcome on my lawn.
This comes alongside a report confirming some of the BS we told our parents when we were growing up
Be that as it may, your parents were still right about exercise, fresh air, and socialization.
There goes our military.
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Proverbs 16:25 (NKJV)
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Here http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/05/navy_videogame_bootcamp_052610w/
The World is Yours.
Between my high scores on Paranoia: Survivor and Territories on Zanzibar, I will be the greatest soldier America has ever seen!
Those who fail to understand communication protocols, are doomed to repeat them over port 80.
This came up about a week ago. My girlfriend does play Wii Fit and Super Mario Bros 3 on the NES from time to time, but she's never been what most would consider a hardcore gamer. I wouldn't consider myself hardcore anymore, but I definately was no more than a year ago. I've always been very heavy on first person shooters. Counter-Strike and Halo and the likes.
Anyways, so we were walking home from a party, outside campfire type thing. We walked past a church, and I noticed the sign said something a little funny, like "Monday 8:00 Weekly I hate my job session", and I laughed. She asked what was funny and I pointed out the sign. And she said "I can't read it, its too dark" which kind of struck me as odd. I mean I knew that people have trouble at certain lengths, depth perception can be affected by many things, but I had just kind of assumed everyone could see just as well in the dark.
I wonder now if its because of all those night missions during Rainbow 6 and Ghost Recon?
Though I'm open to the counter claim that perhaps my eyes had adjusted quicker than hers, or perhaps my eyes are just naturally better in the dark, or some other factor. I mean, I've also spent a lot more time with a computer in a dark room, so maybe that has an affect.
Push-ups and Running stopped working??
From the article: "...newcomers to the military service build up the endurance they need to get in shape safely." Allowing trainees to play games to get in shape goes against almost everything the military is supposed to teach soldiers. Soldiers are expected to spends weeks or months in the field where there might not be electricity and clean water, forget entertainment electronic. Soldiers should learn to rough it and exercise even when it's difficult or boring. If the new recruits cannot take the standard training, perhaps there should be a "pre-boot camp", but to allow them to play games? Insane.
Wow, now that is a reversal of policy. Going from "Don't ask don't tell" to "now, with extra-gay training regimen!"
Now the Navy is doing Dance Dance Revolution for Boot Camp? Have they not been hearing the jokes about themselves?
'Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.' - Mao Tse-tung
specially accidents like this one: http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/videogames/2010/04/14/13582661.html
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51StlHFz0CL._SS500_.jpg
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51OJB2mzbOL._SS400_.jpg
In GOD we trust, all others we monitor.
I like DDR. It's very addictive. My weight dropped from 81kg to 73kg without changing my eating habits (I eat lots of sweets and chocolate; my weight should be around 68kg with my 175cm height, I think). Also got leg muscles and better stamina.
Well, it sucks to be a beginner on DDR. Everyone probably looks like a jerk, when missing the arrows. But it gets better with time. There are very few people who can master the hardest songs, but even when I fail to finish a song, it's still fun.
Clearly the use of the Wii is meant to strengthen the arm muscles and thus reduce the amount of limp wrists in the Navy.
Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
I enlisted in the USMC late 1973. I weighed 235lb upon arrival at USMCRD San Diego. The physical kicked my ass so they threw me into a Physical Conditioning Platoon till I could better the PFT. 6 mo later I graduated at 175lb and passed the fitness tests with very good style.
.
What. The. Fuck.
When I was in the army in the early 90s we just did good old fashioned exercise. What the fuck is wrong with making them run until they're no longer lardasses?
Get the Beavis and Butthead P.E. coach to run it
but Wii Fit? I guess you can get some aerobic exercise with it as well, but if you're going to use a game, DDR has far more feedback for the aerobic exercise with the mat. Long sessions of DDR could replace some aerobic fat burning classes for new recruits.
Here in Finland, an outside support organisation bought a bunch of Wii consoles and Wii Fit games for various army garrisons. This was met with some initial scepticism, of course, but apparently the thing has turned out to be a success.
In recent years, the army has been forced to figure out how to give the new conscripts who are in really bad shape (blah blah blah, moral and physical decay in youth today, yadda yadda yadda) a bit softer landing so they don't completely break themselves apart during the basic training, and this has played toward that goal too. The worst couch potatoes get Nordic walking instead of morning sprints.
They've used it to help rehabilitate patients, and noticed that patients who have a Wii and use it are healthier.
Bottom line - the military is finding out that the Wii kicks ass!
No more couch potatoes.
Of course the next problem will be that possession of a bunnch of Wiis could mark you as a terrorist training camp.
Having one to boot camp in 2003 I was in one of the last old barracks they had where you had to march everywhere it doesn't surprise me that they are having issues getting the new recruits in shape. The new barracks have the mess hall, class rooms and barrack all in the same place so there is almost no marching or traveling on any given day in boot camp and just one PT session a day. So obviously the solution is to play videogames in the barracks and not you know march around during boot camp. Even the end of boot camp test battle stations is all in one building now where before it used to be spread out around the whole base. Truthfully tho being a instructor for future navy nukes Im actually more concerned about the lowered asvab standards then the fatties coming in.
Does it fall under "Don't Ask, Don,t Tell"
I've had strabismic amblyopia (lazy eye due to misalignment of the eyes at birth, not refractive issues - although I have those, too) since birth, cosmetically corrected, but playing video games hasn't done a damn thing to correct it. I've had surgery to cosmetically correct it, but too late for my brain to be OK with that.
It's the weirdest thing to try and describe, since its effects are much permanent without drastic measures. Even with contacts that correct my vision to 20/20, my right eye just doesn't see like the left. If I cover my right eye, I can read with normal speed. If I cover my left, even though I would pass a vision test with flying colors, I must concentrate - HARD! - on every word. It's as if someone turned up the dimmer switch on that eye. I can't catch a ball to save my life. depth perception is just not there. However, every other function is, my peripheral vision is >180 degrees, color is just fine, so is focus. Perception is not.
So how is a game presented on a 2D monitor supposed to improve that? My brain can continue to rely on it's one "fellow eye" system just fine staring at a monitor.
... Soldiers are expected to spends weeks or months in the field where there might not be electricity and clean water, forget entertainment electronic. Soldiers should learn to rough it and exercise even when it's difficult or boring.
We are talking about sailors, not soldiers. If sailors do not have electricity they are treading water or may soon be doing so.
wtf. how about start by making them do 500 push ups everyday, that will get them into shape real quick. Physical atonement isn't supposed to be "fun" and "easy"
Fuck that shit
The military shows some intelligence. Instead of doing jumping jacks and other inane calisthenics for 30 minutes (or however long) every morning, why not make exercise fun. Get people to want to do it! I didn't lift weights like the football team in high school, but I did go to the arcade almost everyday and played nothing but DDR 3rd and 4th mix. I never thought of it as exercise, it was always fun... even when my legs were on fire. Tell you what, I could do as many squats at whatever weight with the best of them when I was forced to take gym class. I also noticed I could run better, went from an 8min mile to a 6:30 over the course of a couple months of DDR. Sure got expensive though.
The military using Wii fit and DDR in order to help shape up their incoming overweight recruits is cute, but it's really not the best way of going about it. The obvious answer an obesity epidemic in America can easily be found in our answers to other things that threaten us.
Criminalization.
We'll make driving while obese illegal, put in mandatory weigh-ins to prove you aren't too fat to buy high calorie foods, ban cheeseburgers, put in fat scanners in airports, put and start putting them in prison. Then we can make mandatory Obesity Registration Lists so that people in your neighborhood will know that you are fat.
Zero tolerance. We won't care if you just had a baby, have some medical condition that led to it, the law is the law!
My first thought on hearing this was how different the training scene would be in full metal jacket now....
Would they attack Pile with wii controllers instead of soap in socks ?
Would Sergeant Hartman be replaced with a character in a Mario Bros game?
While I do think thta this seems to be very odd in my opinion, I can see the US reasoning, by using video games in training they may increase recruitments of people who like playing vidoe games