No. Modern drill is definitely not aimless, let alone fun. If done properly, it hurts. For some people at basic training it is more of a workout than the actual PT workouts. I've seen people pass out. I've seen people damage themeselves and others with bayonets as they fall (parade bayonets are not sharp). And all the foot-stomping and repetative motion leads to knee and back injuries. The one thing I took from drill was an ingrained desire to avoid it at all costs.
>>A plastic surgeon has called for a change to the way a German battalion does its rifle drill after its elite soldiers started developing breasts. Dozens of soldiers in the Wachbataillon unit (Guard Battalion), which performs drill displays at official events, have complained about over-developed breasts on their left-hand side because of the way they clasp their rifles. It is understood the repeated slapping of their rifles against their chests has stimulated hormones, causing a condition known as one-sided gynecomastia.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2267631/Germanys-Wa...
>> "There is a very significant link between the activity in the … battalion and the development of the breast on the left side," Dr. Bjorn Krapohl, director of plastic surgery at the military's main hospital in Berlin, told the Herald. "They need to change the way they drill."
https://www.livescience.com/26597-german-army-soldiers-breas...