Armed Forces recreation services: our hallowed ground raison d'etre.

It is possible to identify at least two different orientations or philosophical positions that stem from the Armed Forces leisure value system in the present post-cold war era. These are: one, the traditional "quality of life" approach which sees MWR recreation and club services chiefly as amenities without significant mission impact, but, nonetheless, deserving of service branch and Department of Defense support; and two, the "business-like" marketing approach, which dominates our professional management thinking and command dialogues today and which urges that all recreation services programs be viewed largely as a commodity to be merchandised, with a minimum of social and mission support goals or constraints.

"Readiness is the cornerstone of this administration. A ready-to-fight force is linked intrinsically to the morale, sense of well-being, commitment and pride in the mission of each Service and family member. Our Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) programs play a direct role in developing and maintaining these characteristics within our force and are more important than ever during this time of transition, when profound changes are taking place that are having a powerful impact on Service members and their families. Now, more than at any time in the past, our personnel need to sense that we value their contributions and sacrifices."

"The primary purpose of our MWR programs is to enhance military readiness by promoting mental and physical fitness as well as esprit de corps and personal development. The qualities are critical to having a ready-to-fight force composed of well-balanced individuals."

Both of the above statements were made by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Personnel Support, Families and Education Carolyn H. Becraft in hearings before the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Panel, Readiness Subcommittee, House Committee on Armed Services on Morale, Welfare and Recreation Programs, March 1, 1994. Ms. Becraft made practically the same comments to 450 members of the Armed Forces Recreation Society at its Professional Training Institute held in conjunction with the 1994 Congress for Parks and Recreation in Minneapolis this past October.

Landmark Document Published

In the '80s and early '90s individual needs of the active duty members and families were guiding factors in the design and delivery of the Armed Forces MWR recreation program. Commercial marketing techniques were adopted by entrepreneurial recreation managers that resulted in a greatly improved "bottom line." In July, 1990, the Air Force published its white paper on recreation. This was a landmark document that focused on recreation services' mission support role. USAF's recreation Corporate Focus initiative, introduced in July of 1991, caught the attention of all the Services. The Navy surveyed its operational commanding officers and command master chiefs in 1992 asking them what were the most important MWR programs in terms of unit mission. From that survey's results, Navy MWR headquarters introduced the notion of core MWR programs. This meant that recreation services was getting closer to a mission support posture, our hallowed ground.

Satisfying the leisure needs and wants of Armed Forces MWR patrons is indeed important. Members of the Armed Forces community are valued customers who must be listened to and given options and choices. This does not suggest that the emphasis on a business-like, service delivery system be superseded. Instead, the new recreation service criteria for success should broaden so that bottom line is not a commercially defined level of profitability or even fiscal accountability, but rather ethical accountability to the mission of the Armed Forces and the ability of recreation services to support that mission.

No one knows what the role of Armed Forces MWR programs will be in the 21st century. If we are clear about our mission and the use of the power of the recreation experience to develop our active duty members and make a contribution to readiness, it may be a golden era; if we are not clear about our mission and defend our hallowed ground, MWR may soon cease to be a living force.