Sgt. Maj. Meaghan B. Simmons, chaplain corps regimental sergeant major, from left, Army veteran Jasmin McKenzie and Maj. Gen. William Green Jr., the Army's chief of chaplains, pose for a selfie during the Warrior Games in Orlando, Fla., in June 2024. The Army has released a spiritual fitness guide focused on helping soldiers derive meaning from their military service. (James Dickson/U.S. Army)
The U.S. Army has released new guidance designed to get soldiers in tip-top spiritual shape for the battlefield.
The Army Spiritual Fitness Guide, released last week, is a 112-page document that acts as a road map to help soldiers develop a sense of purpose and mental resilience.
While the guidance doesn’t focus on any one religion, it does discuss the importance of belief systems as a building block of spiritual strength.
Army leaders say it’s a key part of overall readiness and providing soldiers with the “will to fight.”
Meaghan B. Simmons, regimental sergeant major for the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps, said the guide will help to build a foundation of “spiritually healthy, purpose-driven soldiers and families.”
“When Soldiers derive purpose from their source of inner strength and collective mission, they become unstoppable in war,” Simmons wrote in the guide’s foreword.
The Army Chaplain Corps, which has served as the service’s primary spiritual support for 250 years, developed the material through a “comprehensive and rigorous evidence-based approach,” according to the document.
The guide aligns with the Army’s existing Holistic Health and Fitness program, which includes spirituality as one of the five categories of readiness, alongside physical, mental, nutrition and sleep.
The guide’s nine chapters lay out the components of a soldier’s spirit, principles of spiritual fitness and suggested exercises for spiritual growth.
The guidance is also supplemented by a hands-on “battlebook” that includes more exercises, reflections and scenarios designed to train inner resilience just like physical readiness.
Army chaplain Capt. Adam Strater reads from the Haggadah during a Passover Seder at Irbil Air Base, Iraq, April 18, 2025. The Army's newly issued spiritual fitness guide aims to help soldiers find purpose and derive meaning from their military service. (Andrew Lightsey IV/U.S. Army)
As part of Operation Holistic Warrior 2025, soldiers navigate an obstacle on the team development course at Fort Jackson, S.C., March 27, 2025. The Army has released a spiritual fitness guide focused on helping soldiers derive meaning from their military service. (Crystal Harlow/U.S. Army)
In addition to highlighting the importance of creative expression, emotional intelligence and human connection, the guide also lays out four stages of spiritual development, helping soldiers move from a place of feeling helpless to feeling empowered.
Maj. Gen. William Green Jr., chief of chaplains for the Army, said the service must be equipped to lead service members to success in both war and life.
The guide provides field-tested advice for navigating the uncertainties that may come with future large-scale operations, he said.
“These pages are not just a culmination of shared experience; they highlight the remarkable operational effectiveness of spiritual strength,” Green wrote in the guide.
