Spiritual Fitness in the Warfighter: A Marine's Perspective
Abstract
Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen Neller in his spiritual fitness ALMARS acknowledged the importance of spiritual fitness in the balance of a healthy Marine. Spiritual fitness should be a salient factor necessary in a Marine warrior in order to build a healthy, prepared, and effective combat warfighter and contributing citizen to our nation. Spiritual fitness is not a call to worship or a charge to become religious. It is a means where by a Marine can achieve a more holistic balance to better personal health and resiliency. A spiritually fit Marine is able to discern life's purpose and meaning; able to evaluate, reflect, and process who he or she is in terms of identity and core values; and able to display the ability to show resilience and strength during times of challenge and turmoil. To make this argument this paper reviews literature on spiritual fitness and spirituality in the military, examines the spiritual fitness in units and or persons during combat, and looks at the current spiritual fitness models in the military and potential metrics for assessment. It is the intent of the author at the conclusion of this paper to provide recommendations to Headquarters Marine Corps and commanders to help implement spiritual fitness into the Corps, commander's unit battle rhythm, esprit de corps, and overall individual and collective health of their Marines.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 09, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1176876
Entities
People
- Clarissa N. Blair
Organizations
- Marine Corps University