Lifeliners run for Spiritual Fitness

By SFC Pete Mayes
101st Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs Office
(photo by SPC Robinson)

Fort Campbell, Ky., August 28, 2009 – The Army’s mission is to ensure that Soldiers are physically and mentally prepared for the rigors of combat. Spiritual preparation, however, is the chaplain’s job.
The 101st Sustainment Brigade Chaplain’s Office took a page from the Army’s physical fitness doctrine to get Soldiers both physically and spiritually prepared last Friday by sponsoring a brigade “Spiritual Fitness” four-mile run.
The run is part of Brigade Commander Col. Michael Peterman’s overall objective to ensure that Sustainment Soldiers are spiritually tough, as well as mentally and physically.
“These events are important to every organization to remind people that the Spiritual aspect if being a Soldier has to be nurtured while we’re back here in garrison,” Col. Peterman said. “Most of the Soldiers have multiple deployments, so as we heal and grow them spiritually, it will be critical for the next combat deployment and we’ll have a great resource.”
“People go to different churches on Sunday, but events like this, this is the best way for Soldiers to get together,” said Sgt. Maciej Andrzejczuk, a Soldier assigned to the FSC Company, 326th Engineer Battalion. “The purpose of it was to raise the spirit of Soldiers. I like that.”
Soldiers took the early morning brisk run down to the Sabaluski Air Assault School, down Ashau Valley Road to the Division Parade Field, and back to the Sustainment Brigade headquarters. Afterwards, they were treated to a continental breakfast, as well as some brief words from Col. Peterman and Brigade Chaplain, Maj. Sun Macupa.
“When you have faith in God, it will drive your life in a positive direction,” Maj. Macupa explained. “There’s a lot of Soldiers who are losing it spiritually in some aspects of their lives, and they run into a lot of stresses and temptations that they don’t know how to deal with.”
“We try to teach them that while there are problems in life they’ll run into, they can stop, take some time and get a perspective on where their strength comers from. There’s always a way to get out of the problem.”
Unlike the Brigade Combat Teams, Sustainment Brigade Soldiers are constantly deploying in and out of combat theater. Soldiers with the 101st Sustainment Brigade have recently returned from a deployment from Afghanistan and currently are slated to begin re-deploying back to Afghanistan starting in 2010.
“We’re a little different than most brigades on this post. We’re on a different cycle than most, and we’ve got to stay on the spiritual fitness road to ensure we have resilient Soldiers and families for the future,” Col. Peterman said.