The Navy has begun offering recruits who don’t meet military fitness standards the opportunity to get in better shape before boot camp, following the lead of an Army program meant to expand the pool of eligible candidates as the military battles recruiting shortfalls.
The new program, dubbed the “Future Sailor Preparatory Course,” launched at the beginning of this month and was highlighted as just one of the “innovative ways” the Navy is tackling recruiting woes. The course will allow recruits who don’t meet physical fitness or weight standards at enlistment 90 days to get into an acceptable range before shipping off to boot camp, according to a Military.com report Wednesday.
“Once accepted, we will work very closely with recruits to ensure their physical and mental readiness before they report to boot camp,” Erik Raven, the under secretary of the Navy, told lawmakers at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday.
Members of the Navy Ceremonial Guard stand for the national anthem during a ceremony for National POW/MIA Recognition Day. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The new program is similar to the “Future Soldier Prep Course” that was expanded by the Army earlier this year, offering recruits who do not meet the Army’s aptitude or fitness standards the opportunity to improve before starting basic training.
“The Future Soldier Prep Course is giving young Americans who want to serve the chance to do so by helping them not only meet our standards but, in many cases, rise above them,” Gen. James McConville, the Army’s top officer, said.
The Navy’s version of the program will also expand to recruits who are in need of improving test scores later this year, Raven said, which will further expand the pool of applicants the Navy is able to accept.
U.S. Armed Forces recruiting station at Times Square. (Ulrich Baumgarten via Getty Images)
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The programs come as all branches of the military have battled a recruiting crisis in recent years that have left the services scrambling to fill the ranks, with 2022 being the worst year for military recruiting since switching to an all-volunteer force in 1973.
Military leaders have blamed a tightening jobs market as the primary driver of the crisis, though some critics have pointed to the military’s alleged turn to a more “woke” culture as contributing to the recruiting problems.
“How can we ask young men and women who have decided to risk their lives for America, even die for America, to affirm that our country is inherently racist?” former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote for Fox News last year.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (Reuters/Ints Kalnins)
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Others have worried that the new programs will lead to the military lowering standards for recruits, though Raven dismissed that concern during Tuesday’s hearing.
“To be a machinist mate, to be a sailor, to be a fire controlman, you still have to meet the exact same standards as before,” Raven said. “So we’re trying to increase the pool, but the standards for performing the job are what is key and what we need to perform our mission. And we have not changed that.”
