Divorce Among Military Personnel on the Rise

A new report indicates that divorce among U.S. military personnel is on the rise.  The report combines statistics from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and the Air Force.

In the last budget year, which ended on September 30, there were approximately 27, 312 divorcees among the 765,000 married, active-duty members of the military.   That number is a full percentage point higher than the divorce rate among military personnel around the time of the September 11^th attacks.

The divorce rate also increased among the reserve members of the military. This fiscal year the divorce rate was 2.8 percent compared to 2.7 percent the year before.

As in previous years, there was a higher rate of divorce for female military members—7.7 percent for woman compared to 3 percent for men.

What is the cause for the general increase in divorce among our troops?  Experts believe it is stress from the wars being fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Many U.S. soldiers have been killed and countless more have been seriously injured since 2001, when troops first begin being deployed to the Middle East.  It’s easy to see how the stress of active military duty, combined with the sadness and grief of losing a fellow soldier, can lead to problems in one’s personal life that may affect his/her marriage.