21st Century Sailors and Marines Focus on Fitness, Nutrition in ...

By Senior Chief Mass Communications Specialist Maria Escamilla, Combined Joint Task Force ? Horn of Africa Public Affairs

CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti (NNS) ? Navy leaders focused on the 21st Century Sailor and Marine area of physical fitness and nutrition during the second day of their visit here March 17, beginning the day with pre-dawn physical training.

Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, the honorable Juan M. Garcia, and Chief of Navy Reserve Vice Admiral Dirk J. Debbink, met with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3 Detail Horn of Africa (HOA) Seabees at Camp Lemonnier?s Morale, Welfare and Recreation turf field for calisthenics, ?ammo? can carry drills and more.

Garcia said after so many years of combat it?s good to focus on fitness for the future of the Navy.

?With the new national defense strategy, in which the Navy figures centrally, they know we can?t afford to lose man days, to sick days,? Garcia said. ?Physical fitness has never been more important than it is now.?

Engineering Aid 1st Class (SCW) Edward J. Brock, NMCB 3 Detachment HOA command fitness leader, said Seabees take their fitness seriously.

?Because we train as a command six times per week, I?ve seen a vast improvement in our overall level of fitness,? Brock said. ?We have more energy, with many inches and pounds lost.?

Vice Adm. Debbink also sees the positive impact fitness can have on Sailors and their work.

?The 21st Century Sailor and Marine initiative is all about helping our Sailors and Marines be the best that they can be,? explained Debbink. ?To be a healthy and fit Sailor helps us do our jobs better.?

After physical training, the distinguished guests toured NMCB 3 projects then engaged in an all hands call with sailors and Marines at Camp Lemonnier, where they discussed the future of Navy personnel programs and answered questions from active duty and Reserve service members.

Health and physical fitness was one of the topics sailors and Marines had on their minds.

Garcia discussed the move from a ?culture of testing? to a ?culture of fitness.? He explained how programs under the 21st Century initiative, such as Navy Operational Fitness and Fueling System and ?Fueled to Fight? will help achieve the transformation.

According to Garcia, NOFFS is an online guide with a smart phone application that provides operational platform-specific fitness routines tailored to a specific ship or location. The ?Fueled to Fight? program will be adopted fleet-wide to make it easier to select nutrient-rich food choices using a standard color-coding system, he said.

The guests also ate lunch with sailors and Marines from commands around camp. Posters and table tents with information about nutrition were on hand, along with a table displaying several healthy meals comprised fresh fruit, vegetables and low-fat grilled meats.

Culinary Specialist 1st Class (SCW/SW/AW) Misty D. McMasters, Camp Lemonnier?s galley manager, explained that there are always plenty of healthy options offered daily.

?The saying here is you can leave this deployment either ?chunky or hunky,?? McMasters said. ?With the wide variety of healthy choices available here you can leave hunky because that?s the best way to be,? she added with a smile.

To learn more about the physical fitness programs included in the 21st Century Sailor and Marine initiative, see ?Secretary of the Navy Announces 21st Century Sailor and Marine Initiative? at www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=65698.

The 21st Century Sailor and Marine initiative consolidates a set of objectives and policies, new and existing, to maximize Sailor and Marine personal readiness, build resiliency and hone the most combat-effective force in the history of the Department of the Navy.

Article source: http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=65948

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