Fort Lee General Williams Notes Decline in Spiritual Fitness
US Army MajGen Darrell Williams, Fort Lee commanding general and also commander for Combined Arms Support Command, recently signed a suicide prevention/awareness pledge and noted the dramatic decline in Soldier spiritual fitness over his career:
“We need to look at the physical, social and spiritual well-being of ourselves and one another,” Williams continued. “I noticed in my 33 years of service the decline on emphasis of spiritual fitness. I remember as a second lieutenant having a prayer breakfast, the place would be overflowing. Today, when you hold a prayer breakfast, it is much more difficult to fill the seats.
Most of you who have been to combat know when a serious incident happens, a Soldier will yell one of two things – ‘medic’ or ‘oh God.’ There is a connection between spiritual fitness and suicide awareness and thus this is why our chaplains are holding this breakfast.”
Spiritual fitness is a key part of the entire DoD’s recognition of the whole-person concept. Notably, too, spiritual fitness and religious support are commander’s responsibilities, taken under the advice of their chaplains. So it is entirely appropriate, and admirable, that Gen Williams should so clearly state his support for the spiritual fitness of his troops.
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I’m not saying this is a bad or good thing, but I’ve come to realize that a lot of our senior leadership and the DoD is sorely out of touch with the Military in general. Our youngest troops, and some older ones too, do not wish to share their feelings with their bosses anymore. These “pillars” as they call them are managements ways to mettle in the troops business (troops words) and they prefer to be left to their own devices and close personal relationships. At a recent CC call one A1C was asked what his spiritual fitness technique was and his answer was classic “sir I plead the fifth”. We later discovered it was his best way to respectfully say “none of your business”. The CC was OK with that, as he should be.
As supervisors we all know how to coax info out of people and get them to open up on a personal level. My troops know the door is always open and I won’t hesitate for one minute to refer them if they need some professional assistance that I can’t give’em. Beyond that, they are grown men and women and desire their freedom, space and privacy. Time for a GOBI and change some more stuff the CSAF seems willing to do; and I think a lot of the troops would like it to go away too.
@Delta One
In all likelihood, the military as a whole is probably trying to replace what was once a natural part of the military culture with new rules and policies. At one point long ago, military leadership was more “relationship”-based. Now, it seems many younger troops would, as you say, prefer to be left alone or to their own devices, and the military is trying to replace those relationships with edicts to commanders to know the details of their troops’ personal lives.
Regardless of anyone’s personal feelings on the “pillars,” there is something to be said for a unit commander setting the environment within his unit such that his troops can meet their spiritual, physical, mental, and social needs. He can’t, and probably should try to, make them do much at all for those pillars, but he is responsible for a unit culture that at least supports them.