Why Total Force Fitness ?

In this article we describe a new paradigm for “Total Force Fitness.” In an age of sustained confl ict, fi tness requires continuous performance, resilience, and recovery of the whole person, not just the physical body. Injury from these confl icts is physical and mental, social and spiritual. It impacts the service members, their families and communities, and the nation. It is now abundantly clear that if our service members are to protect the freedom and security of our nation, we must move beyond the idea of simply having a sound body to a more holistic view of health and fi tness, that includes both mind and body. We illustrate how science supports such a paradigm with research on how mind-body-spirit and community all interact to sustain health and accelerate healing in the path of stress and injury. A shift to total force fi tness will be diffi cult, but essential, perhaps even for our very survival. * Samueli Institute, 1737 King Street, Ste 600, Alexandria, VA 22314. † Consortium for Health and Military Performance (CHAMP), Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road,