Military recreation goes by many names across the Services: Army Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR), Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS), Navy MWR, US Air Force Services, and Coast Guard Morale, Well-Being, and Recreation. Regardless of the name, all branches of Service provide service members and their families with a variety of recreational programs on and off the installation to include: fitness and sports, libraries, skill development programs, travel and lodging, and programs specifically designed for single Service members.
The Department of Defense (DoD) understands that in order to attract and retain top quality service members, DoD must provide a quality of life comparable to that in the civilian community. In addition to providing competitive salaries, health care, and housing, DoD recognizes that recreational opportunities play an important role in the service member's total compensation package. This total compensation package is one of the most influential factors in a service member's decision to enlist or reenlist. As well as influencing military recruitment and retainment, recreational programs and services improve the service member's personal readiness by providing opportunities to relax and regroup, ultimately enhancing the overall readiness level of the Unites States military.
DoD recreational programs are offered through Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR). These programs provide service members with the opportunity to recreate, promote fitness and esprit de corps, promote a strong sense of military community, and result in a beneficial quality of life for all members of the Defense community. MWR consists of about forty-five different programs, though not all installations offer every MWR program or service. Some examples of MWR programs include:
Fitness and Sports - The physical fitness and wellness programs develop cardiovascular fitness, strength conditioning, and flexibility, and promote healthy lifestyles. These programs include swimming; self-directed, unit level, or intramural sports and athletics; and sports programs above the intramural level that provide competition events.
Libraries Programs and Information Services - The DoD MWR library activities support readiness and the military mission, professional military and technical education and training, personal and technical skill development, quality of life, education, transition and career assistance, relocation assistance, and leisure needs of the military community. MWR libraries do not include medical, educational, or other libraries within DoD that focus on occupational or academic specialties.
Recreation Programs - Military recreation provides opportunities for social interaction, self-expression, recreation, and cultural and educational programs that appeal to all segments of the community. Military recreation includes free admission movies; outdoor recreation (parks and picnic areas, recreation equipment checkout, camping, horseback riding, fishing, rappelling, hiking, bicycling, mountain biking, water and snow skiing, etc.); basic social recreation activities (video games, entertainment videos, board games, social events, etc.); shipboard, company, or unit-level activities; recreational swimming; and/or special interest recreational programs (i.e., flying/aero clubs, parachute/sky diving, rod and gun, and scuba diving).
Individual Recreation Skill Programs - Individual recreation skill programs are designed to impart a life skill to patrons while providing an outlet for recreation. Programs and activities may include amateur radio, performing arts, arts and crafts, and automotive skill development.
Leisure Travel - The DoD Information, Tickets, and Tours (ITT) program provides economical opportunities for service members and their families to satisfy their needs for national, regional, and local travel, tours, attractions, and events. ITT services include informational brochures concerning local and regional attractions; local or regional group tours; tickets to local movie theaters, concerts, plays, sports events, museums, etc.; admission to regional or national theme parks; and air, rail, and bus tickets, packaged tours, group tours, cruises, and travel insurance.
Recreational Lodging - The recreational lodging program offers eligible patrons the opportunity to relax and enjoy their vacation at a premier location and provides significant savings to the service member in the process. Installation recreational lodging allows patrons to rent cabins, trailers, chalets, cabanas, beach houses/cottages or to rent hook-ups in trailer/recreational vehicle (RV) parks. In addition to the local recreational lodging, Armed Forces Recreation Centers are facilities and programs operated by one Service for all DoD Component use for the primary purpose of providing rest and recreation activities.
Single Service Member Programs - This program supports the overall quality of single service members' lives by identifying well-being issues and concerns of single service members, recommending ways to address these issues through the chain of command, encouraging and assisting single service members in identifying and planning for recreational and leisure activities, and providing single service members with the opportunity to participate in and contribute to their respective communities. Typical activities include recreation and sports activities; health and wellness activities; trips and tours; concerts; Internet surfing and emailing; holiday and special event activities; life skills and career progression; community involvement; and addressing quality of life issues.
Business Programs - Business programs within MWR are able to generate enough income to cover most operating expenses, but lack the ability to sustain themselves based purely on their business activity. Consequently, they receive limited appropriated fund (APF) support. Typical MWR business programs include golf courses, clubs, bowling, and boating activities.
Child Care and Youth Programs - Child care and youth programs focus on care for and development of children of eligible Service members and DoD civilians. Specific programs include the Child Development Program, Youth Activities, Family Child Care, School-Age Care, and child care resource and referral.
Military Recreation Accreditation
The revised "Guide to Standards for National Accreditation of Military Operations" has been released by the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA). Since the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) department on every installation is a park and recreation agency, the revised military edition has been reviewed by the DoD to provide enhanced clarity and focus to the accreditation process for military recreation.
The MWR program, called military recreation for CAPRA accreditation purposes, is concerned with the efficiency, effectiveness, and professionalism of its operations. Therefore, military recreation self-assessment and peer review is an excellent process for evaluating the quality of the system that delivers programs and activities. Military recreation programs accredited by these standards demonstrate not only that they meet the standards for a quality operation but also that they have professional competence, commitment, and military community support to complete the rigorous process of accreditation.
Highlights of the changes include:
- reduction of the number of standards to 139
- commentary, suggested evidence of compliance, and DoD comment
- several new standards that address sustainability, recycling, technology, succession planning, volunteer management, and record retention
