SEMBACH, Germany - Think of comprehensive soldier fitness as a three-legged stool. For a soldier to be at his or her best, all three legs of the stool need to be solid. One weak link and the overall well being of the soldier could collapse.
The Army Chaplains Corps has been involved with helping to develop a soldier's spiritual fitness for more than 25 years, starting with a wellness plan entitled "1,2,3 Fit to Win!"
The program stressed that "TOTAL fitness also involves emotional and spiritual aspects." To that end, the unit ministry team for the U.S. Army NATO Brigade brought together soldiers, airmen and even some sailors stationed on Sembach Kaserne recently for a spiritual fitness breakfast, aimed at ensuring the spiritual fitness of those in attendance was at its peak.
"We'll spend an hour to an hour and a half in the gym every day to ensure we're physically fit," said chaplain (Lt. Col.) Stanley Allen, the U.S. Army NATO brigade chaplain. "But how much time are we willing to spend in prayer to ensure that we are spiritually fit?"
Allen says that while the physical and mental aspects of soldier fitness are the ones most soldiers tend to focus on the most, spiritual fitness is the one most often over looked in a soldiers daily life, even though it's just as critical to a soldiers well being as the mental and physical. To hammer home his point, Chaplain Allen quoted the former chief of staff of the Army, General of the Army George C. Marshall.
"The soldier's heart, the soldier's spirit, the soldier's soul are everything. "He quoted Gen. Marshall as saying. "Unless the soldier's soul sustains him, He cannot be relied on and will fail himself, his commander and his country in the end."
The event started off with a breakfast buffet and scripture reading. Soldiers from the various units on Sembach attended the event as well as sailors from the Navy Reserve's Warrior Transition Program, also located on Sembach.
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