Fort Hood creating Spiritual Fitness Center for soldiers
Posted On: Wednesday, Dec. 10 2008 05:50 AM
By Amanda Kim Stairrett
Killeen Daily HeraldFORT HOOD – The Army strives for physical fitness in its soldiers, and has begun to focus on mental and spiritual fitness, too.
Fort Hood is taking a step toward building the latter with the creation of the Spiritual Fitness Center.
"An Army at war needs warriors who are experienced in wrestling with the difficult questions of pain and suffering, grief and loss, and must be adept at making tough decisions that affect all who serve in the military at these times," states information from the Garrison Chaplain Office.
The proposed center will provide those soldiers with that guidance, and representatives from units across Fort Hood met Tuesday to discuss its benefits.
Spiritual fitness seminars have already begun at the center, which will be transformed from the 33rd Street Memorial Chapel, formerly the 2nd Armored Division Memorial Chapel.
The Garrison Chaplain Office, led by Col. Chester Egert, is gathering funds to renovate and expand the chapel. Two designs are being discussed, and range in price from $500,000 to $850,000.
Discussions this fall centered around the creation of a state-of-the art center that wouldn't be ready by 2012. Talk then focused on developing an existing chapel.
Minor changes are set to appear in January, and include new furniture to transform the pew-filled sanctuary and other areas into comfortable learning areas. Plans are to turn the chapel's fellowship hall into a lounge with a coffeehouse-like atmosphere for small group discussions.
Proposed classes at the center include battlefield ethics, spiritual fitness, sexual harassment prevention, medical ethics on the battlefield and character development.
The center will invite units who want to bring groups of soldiers in for training, but the facility will be open daily to individual soldiers as well.
Brig. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, special assistant to the commander of III Corps and Fort Hood, talked Tuesday about spiritual fitness and how it was a growing priority Army-wide and at Fort Hood.
Soldiers go to the gym to get physically fit and the Army monitors that physical readiness. There should be the same focus on spiritual readiness, Brooks said.
"The spiritual part is where I think we struggle most," he added.
As warriors, soldiers often face ethical and moral issues that challenge their spirits, Brooks went on to say. It is spirit that helps a soldier go back out on the battlefield while mourning the loss of a buddy.
Though coordinated by the Garrison Chaplain Office, officials emphasize that spiritual fitness is not directly tied to religion or faith. Going to the center is not going to church.
The new generation of soldiers are more spiritually aware than every and are thirsting for guidance in this area, Brooks said.
Leaders want to provide a place to get information and training because there is clearly a need and an interest, he added.
For more information on Fort Hood's Spiritual Fitness Center or to donate toward the chapel's renovations, contact Col. Chester Egert, installation chaplain, at (254) 288-6545/6554 or
chester.c.egert@us.army.mil.
Contact Amanda Kim Stairrett at
astair@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7547.