diff --git a/build_avida b/build_avida
index c203d748d..616f016ae 100755
--- a/build_avida
+++ b/build_avida
@@ -2,8 +2,7 @@
 
 set -e
 
-git submodule init
-git submodule update
+git submodule update --init --recursive
 
 do_build() {
   (