Spiritually Commanding an Air Force Squadron in the 21st Century.

摘要

In 2004, the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force penned a letter titled 'Stressed Airmen - Who's Your Wingman' The letter deals with the increased stress and suicide rate among Airmen primarily attributed to longer deployments and higher operations tempo. General Jumper states that commanders are responsible for the total welfare of their Airmen. He outlines the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual aspects of life as the dimensions that comprise well-being. While the physical, emotional, and social aspects of well- being are generally well understood, spirituality is not. Additionally, Air Force guidance for commanders concerning spirituality is scarce. This paper was written to aide commanders in fulfilling their responsibility to ensure spiritual wellness by examining the what, why, and how of Air Force spirituality. The what portion of this paper compiles many thoughts on spirituality and ultimately defines what spirituality is. The importance of spirituality is explained by the Why section. Finally the How portion provides commanders with practical methods to ensure the spiritual wellness of their Airmen.