Soldiers at Harmony Church looking to lift weights or work on their cardio will no longer have to travel to Smith Fitness Center on Main Post to get a good workout.
And, with the new addition of the Harmony Church Fitness Center, most of them won’t even need to get in their cars.
“There’s no need to drive your car to go to the gym,” said Ed Hayes, deputy commanding officer of the 316th Cavalry Brigade. Hayes surveyed the new fitness center, located just off of 69th Armored Regiment Road, during an open house Thursday, which was hosted by the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation’s Sports, Fitness and Aquatics Branch.
“This is more than I expected,” he said. “I can’t wait to work out here myself.”
The new fitness center is open to all Soldiers and their Families and DoD civilians seven days a week, but the primary purpose of its construction was for the Armor Soldiers migrating from Fort Knox, Ky., to Harmony Church, said Shannon Beck, marketing manager for Morale, Welfare and Recreation.
“With the addition of the Armor School coming to Fort Benning, we have more Soldiers and so the addition of another fitness facility was needed,” Beck said. “It’s certainly open to anyone who wants to work out there but it’s so the Armor School can have recreational and fitness facilities in their backyard.”
The facility, which cost $1 million and took eight months to build, features brand new equipment designed for cardio and weight lifting.
Carol Gearheart, sports specialist for Sports, Fitness and Aquatics, said the convenience of the center’s location will help save Soldiers time during their day.
“This helps them from having to drive from here to Main Post to do their workout,” she said.
Bridgett Siter, with the DFMWR, said the fitness center was designed in accordance with Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program that exists to provide the critical skills needed by Soldiers, Families and Army civilians.
The five dimensions of CSF are physical, emotional, social, family and spiritual.
“Of the five dimensions of Comprehensive Soldier Fitness, there’s none more vital to the health of the force than physical fitness,” Siter said. “First and foremost, we have to keep our Soldiers fit to train and fit to fight. Harmony Church wouldn’t be complete without a well-equipped fitness center, and the MWR mission wouldn’t be complete, either. We’re here to take care of Soldiers and their Families.”
With the thousands of Soldiers transferring because of the Armor School’s relocation, Hayes said the construction of the new fitness center displays Fort Benning’s efforts to make the Armor School’s transition as seamless and convenient as possible.
“This is something that builds camaraderie with the Maneuver Center of Excellence,” he said. “We’re all on the same team.”
DFMWR also hosted an open house for a new recreation center at Harmony Church, located just off Old Cusseta Road. About 125 Soldiers explored the facility’s features Thursday, which include a computer room, a billiard room, three 50-inch flat-screen TVs, eight videogame areas and a movie theater with a 110-inch projection screen.
“It rivals the other recreation centers in terms of functionality and state-of-the art equipment,” said Noel Phillips, the center’s new manager. “Everyone who saw it for the first time was very impressed and I think it surpassed their expectations.”
Siter said the recreation center also fell under the CSF guidelines.
“We would like to think it applies to the social element,” Siter said. “If nothing else it gives them a great place to unwind. It has a very relaxed, home-like atmosphere … to do what everyone needs to do every now and then — to take their mind off their mission and regroup.”
