The Army is scrapping its Spiritual Fitness Guide after less than five months in use.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the change in a video on social media on Tuesday. He largely addressed changes to the Army Chaplain Corps, in which he said that “chaplains have been minimized, viewed by many as therapists instead of ministers.” As part of his comments he criticized the recently implemented tool, saying that the Army is “tossing it.”
“It mentions God one time. That’s it,” Hegseth said. “It mentions feelings 11 times. It even mentions playfulness, whatever that is, nine times.”
Army spokesman Tony McCormick confirmed to Task & Purpose that the directive went into effect “immediately.”
“We are aggressively moving forward with Secretary Hegseth’s intent to discontinue the Army Spiritual Fitness Guide,” he said.
Top Stories This Week
The Army rolled it out at the start of August. The plan, along with its “battlebook” was part of the Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness program, also known as H2F. It began development in the fall of 2024, but was released Aug. 1, under Hegseth’s time as Secretary of Defense.
The idea behind the guide, the Army said at the time, was to help soldiers grow in the “spiritual domain” a term meant to cover mental and emotional health. In the same way that the Army pushed troops to grow stronger physically this would help them spiritually.
“It is a practical, leader-focused resource highlighting the importance of spiritual readiness, defined as the ability to endure, overcome, and grow through adversity,” Sgt. Maj. Meaghan Simmons, the Army Chaplain Corps regimental sergeant major, said in a statement to Task & Purpose in August.
The guide, along with its battlebook — a “field-ready manual” for soldiers on deployment meant to help them — is meant to help soldiers deal with stresses from service and life, strengthen their mindfulness and find greater purpose, the Army said. Among other aspects, it features a number of motivational quotes, from presidents to military figures such as Gen. George Patton. The Army Chaplain Corps said in August that the guide is not limited or constrained by a specific belief system.
