The Armed Forces' Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) programs make a substantial contribution to the mental readiness and physical fitness of service personnel. An adequate MWR program will have a positive impact on recruitment and retention. (JN)

Efforts to qualitatively measure the effectiveness of military recreational programs have met only negligible success. This is due in part to a lack of definitive data and a lack of scientific assessment tools for adequately measuring performance objectives. (JN)

Discusses the importance of military recreation to mission accomplishment in the armed forces, noting the current financial problems faced by many such programs. The article discusses sports, entertainment, arts and crafts, libraries, and outdoor recreation, all of which contribute to readiness, deployment, recruitment, and retention. (SM)

The article describes morale, welfare, and recreation programs and activities developed by professionally trained civilians for U.S. service personnel stationed in the Persian Gulf. Army, Navy, and Marine service personnel responded overwhelmingly to programs that allowed them to stay physically fit, participate in activities, write, draw, and…