An interesting article by the US Marines asks troops what faith means to them, and to the mission:

For service members deployed to a combat zone, faith takes on a whole new meaning. For many Marines and sailors, the tragedies of war are apparent on a daily basis and often require a reserve of mental, moral, and physical strength that can only be found in a person’s faith.

This understanding of the importance of faith is one reason the US military takes such great steps to promote resilience within its ranks.  Whatever it is the Soldier, Marine, Airmen, or Sailor holds faith in, that faith will sustain them in the challenges they will face.

1st Lt. Robert Mahua [said] “Faith is something we believe, something abstract, something you can’t hold with your hands or see with your eyes.”

“Faith is the ability to believe, know, and trust that there is a higher power greater than me, which is helping me stick to the principles that I believe in,” said…Lt. Cmdr. James Gennari.

The command chaplain naturally had a slightly more specific view of faith:

“Faith, for me, in its basic format, is the belief in a god and something greater than ourselves,” said…[Chaplain] Cmdr. Christopher Fronk…”Faith is my whole purpose for being here. As long as we’re going to ask people to go to distant places to fight, it’s crucial for them to have chaplains to help remind them of their faith, to help them grow in their faith, and to help them prepare for meeting their maker, should that happen.”

Faith is an important part of the comprehensive fitness of every military member, and the chaplaincy is a vital means to supporting the troops in their faiths:

Faith sustains and strengthens many service members through stressful and difficult times on deployment. With the help of the Chaplain Corps, these service members are able to practice their faith in the remote patrol bases throughout the battle space.