Because of the pressure that military families face, the Pentagon just released increased statistics of divorces in the military. There were about 3.6 percent in 2009 rather than 3.4 percent the year before. While divorces are rising, it was a minimal jump.

It’s regrettable but easy to understand why many military couples turn to divorce. Particularly with the war, many members of the armed forces have been deployed multiple times. The strain and time away from one’s spouse can turn everyday debacles into key aspects in divorce.

Another problem many couples confront is that after being in the war many spouses have changed and the couple can’t get past the changes. Following war, many military personnel are hurt physically, mentally or both.

In order to battle the rise in divorces the military has implemented programs to try and help couples resolve their troubles. The military stated rises in divorce were low because the programs helped servicemen and their spouses settle problems and strengthen their relationship.

In 2001 only about 2.6 percent filed for divorce but now it’s 3.6 percent which shows the toll that the war’s taken on military families. When couples are divided it’s easy for the problems to get larger and the drift to widen.

Both in the past and present divorces have been much greater for women in uniform over their male counterparts. In 2009, 7.7 percent of servicewomen divorced compared to 3 percent of men. There are smaller amounts of women in the military and some of their husbands are not prepared for military life.

However as with all marriages there are “controllable and uncontrollable factors…but when you interject war, preparing for war, being at war, coming home and having to think about going back to war again…it has a tremendous impact on the family unit” stated Joe Davis spokesperson for Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Critics say the divorce rate is much greater than the Pentagon reported. One member of the service recounted that every time they were deployed a new batch of divorces would occur. Many suspect that the numbers are truly closer to double digits.

What could clarify the difference in numbers is the fact that the data doesn’t count actual divorces. Rather they take the number of married troops at the start of the year and the number at the close of the year and subtract the difference. But this doesn’t always count the same people because of recruits, retirees, and others that leave the forces. Plus the numbers don’t take into account the troubled marriages that are currently intact.

Military life can be tremendously tough. Sadly the divorce rates are rising because of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars but the military has implemented programs to try and help couples solve their problems but divorce rates are still slowly growing.

About the Author

Diane Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Utah. She likes to write about the news, politics, college degrees, online schooling, and the college experience.

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