Army MWR

The Army MWR project done by Chris Davis, Joseph Ciraulo, Michelle Mahon, Ron Halicke, Arif Rahim

Army MWR

Army MWR Introduction

The Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command, also known as FMWRC is a large support network that provides leisure services to enhance the lives of eligible participants including soldiers, their families, military retirees among others.  This program is the foundation of the Army’s home by allowing them to live a more normal life and be able to experience some of the things that make civilian life in the US so great.

“FMWRC’s mission is to support Army Force Generation by enabling all Commanders, Region Directors, and   Garrisons to provide FMWRC programs and services that result in a quality of life to Soldiers and Families commensurate with their sacrifice and service.” 

This shows the level of devotion the people in charge of FMWRC put towards their jobs.  This is obviously a very important part of the Army’s identity and they take pride in the fact that they do such a quality job of offering these programs to people affiliated with the Army. 

Some of the programs offered by the FMWRC include family programs, child and youth programs, various forms of recreation, professional development and business initiatives among others.

                                                             
                                                   

Army MWR Background

 

Army personnel doing exercises with portable equipment.

While the Army has officially existed since 1775 Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) programs did not exist until the beginning of the 20^th century.  There were many informal groups or actions taken by commanders but until the establishment of the Army PX (Post Exchange) in 1895 there was no funding for recreational activities.  In 1903 MWR activities got a major boost from Congress when it authorized the Army to build everything from schools, recreation centers, libraries, and more.  The Army Morale Division was established in 1918 closely followed by the Army Motion Picture Service in 1920 and the Library Service in 1923.  The Army Morale Division was renamed the Special Services department in 1943 and it established the first Armed Forces recreation Center in Bavaria. 

While troop services advanced quickly, family services were much slower developing.  It was not until 1965 that the Army created Army Community Services followed by the Youth Activities Program and Outdoor Recreation Programs in 1968 and 1971 respectively.  While schools were offered, the Army mentality of “Had the Army wanted you to have a family it would have issued you one” was the primary school of thought.  With the Family Advocacy Program and Army Family Symposium in 1981, however, this began to change. 

Another major change came when Army Chief of Staff General John Wickham Jr. wrote the paper The Army Family in 1983.  This led to the first effort to design programs to address Army families instead of Army individuals.  With the creation of the Army Family Action Plan there was a tangible policy for soldiers and their families to actively improve their lives.  General Wickham’s paper also resulted in the Army Community and Family Support Center and shifted the resources of the MWR from individual soldiers to soldiers and their families.  Finally, in October 2006 the CFSC became the FMWRC.

While there have been many changes and updates to the program, the Army MWR exists because the Army says it “…is committed to the well-being of the community of people who serve and stand ready to defend the nation, to enhance the lives of Soldiers, their families, civilian employees, and military retirees.”

 

Core Competencies

When applying to work for the MWR, an application is submitted through a broader Nonappropriated Fund (NAF), which encompasses the military MWR.   In order to work for the ARMY Morale-Welfare-Recreation center a number of documents must be completed, however there are particular skills required for each specific job.  An example of a specific job would be a chef, where culinary skills are necessary in order to work in the dining facility.  Although the job application does not specify any specific skills, recruiters review the applications and based on the resume and information submitted make appropriate judgments as to whether the person has potential.  One of the things that we found interesting was that there are many types of schedules that are available, which make it easier for military spouses to their family, which relays that the MWR is empathetic toward the spouses’ situation.  The available schedules include:  Regular full-time, regular part-time, flexible, limited tenure, and seasonal.  All of these schedules include distinct benefit entitlements as well.

Employment Opportunities

Since there are so many activities in the MWR, there are a lot of employment opportunities in order to accommodate all of the participants.  These opportunities range between anything from an automotive mechanic manager to a librarian or even a golf range facilities manager.  One of the things we found interesting was that the MWR provides child, youth and school services, better known as the CYS, which therefore offers numerous employment opportunities to care for the military families’ children.  Employment within the CYS includes opportunities as a training specialist, food service manager, child development teacher, program assistant, school liaison officer, sports and fitness program associate, and a technology specialist.  After the initial application review process, the recruitment staff gives selection preference to spouses of active duty military members and to those of the armed services who were involuntary separated from active duty with an honorable or general under honorable conditions discharge.

Current Trends

The MWR as a whole is a fairly young program for the Army and has started become a federally funded program in the past century. The most recent trend is the inclusion of families in the programs and things that they offer. They most recently changed the name of the MWR to include families because of the new programs that they offer. Also recently the use of the military in the Middle East has expanded the programs of the MWR greatly. They have added recreation centers on the new bases in Iraq and Afghanistan and have brought other opportunities to soldier that are serving in the Middle East. They also have begun to offer more programs for soldiers that are returning from fighting in the Middle East to help them get adrenaline rushes without putting their lives in danger. The MWR has also started to develop programs for the families that the soldiers leave behind whether it is groups for the family to get involved with or just events for them.

Main Benefits

The main benefit of the MWR is to give soldiers the same quality of life that they would have if they were civilians. In other words, the MWR works to increase the morale of the Army by giving the soldiers recreation and increasing their welfare. The overall goal of the MWR is to have soldiers that are better for the field and morale is high. The MWR helps provide soldiers with what they need and helps them gain access to what they want. The MWR wants to give soldiers the same lifestyle as a civilian would have.  The MWR defines leisure of anytime that a soldier is not in the field of duty or asleep.

 

Synopsis

There are many advantages to having a career within the Army MWR system.  Within the Army MWR there are opportunities for married couples to go on married retreats.  The marriage retreats are offered at different locations for varying lengths of time.  Also, there are single soldier retreats offered to soldiers.  When I was in the Army I went on a single soldier retreat to Beech Mountain in North Carolina for a weekend.  Another advantage to having a career within the Army MWR system is having access to the Army’s fitness centers, and outdoor recreation programs which at Fort Bragg allowed people to rent everything from boats, fishing gear, and scuba equipment.  To me one of the most important parts of a career within this field is working with our troops and making sure they have time away from their training where they can relax, and be able to free their minds of the military for a while.  Within this career field people are able to make a positive influence on our troops.  Especially, by providing high- risk activities like sky diving, and bungee jumping.  Troops returning from combat deployments are more likely to act in ways that get themselves hurt.  But, with activities offered by the MWR soldiers are less likely to be injured in reckless behavior.  One of the advantages that is by far one of the best for having a career within the Army MWR system is that the you and your family will be covered under the Army’s medical plan known as Tricare.