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Long Wars Fray Military Marriages

Brief homecomings make healing difficult

By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 4, 2009 4:10 PM CDT
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(Newser) – With the Iraq and Afghanistan wars dragging on, long, multiple deployments are taking a toll on military families, USA Today reports. Troops develop instincts on the battlefield that don’t translate at home, while spouses learn to live independently—and when troops return home, there’s often too little time to heal rifts. Families are “coming apart at the seams,” one spouse told Congress.

Army and Marines divorce rates climbed by a percentage point, to 4%, between the start of the Iraq war and last year, the Pentagon says. The Army provides advice through presentations, workshops, and brochures—but some families say it’s too much information. Rather than more programs, troops need improved access to the effective ones, says a Pentagon official.

Michelle Obama listens to Retired U.S. Army General Alfonso Lenhardt speak to a crowd in Santa Fe, N.M. on Sept. 4, 2008. Lenhardt was a guest during a roundtable with military spouses.
Michelle Obama listens to Retired U.S. Army General Alfonso Lenhardt speak to a crowd in Santa Fe, N.M. on Sept. 4, 2008. Lenhardt was a guest during a roundtable with military spouses.   (AP Photo/Jeff Geissler)
U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey speaks to the spouses of military personnel while visiting Schofield Barracks in Wahiwa, Hawaii, Saturday, April 28, 2007.
U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey speaks to the spouses of military personnel while visiting Schofield Barracks in Wahiwa, Hawaii, Saturday, April 28, 2007.   (AP Photo/Ronen Zilberman)
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Marcus Williamson, left, and his wife Joanna talk with a reporter from The Associated Press, Tuesday, May 26, 2009, in Springfield, Va.
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Marcus Williamson, left, and his wife Joanna talk with a reporter from The Associated Press, Tuesday, May 26, 2009, in Springfield, Va.   (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 10 comments
RobN
Aug 5, 2009 12:57 PM CDT
If you think that every american should receive the same coverage that members of congress get, then I assume you are against the current plan? Because it's nothing like what congress gets; that's why any number of congresspeople who have been asked whether they would sign their families up for it have declined to answer. As for the homeless child, a bill was passed at the beginning of the Obama administration that vastly expanded the coverage of children to the tune of billions of dollars. That homeless kid you're referring to is already covered.
armywife
Aug 5, 2009 11:41 AM CDT
combat grunt, that was poetry, i read your posts outloud to my husband and he teared up. you hit it perfectly - the military is being part of something greater than you, greater than the sum of its parts, and i wish more americans could experience that, i think we would be more unified as a country if we all shared the common bond of service to our country. god bless you and thank you for your service and sacrifices.
RobN
Aug 5, 2009 5:05 AM CDT
-3 for that? It's true, libs have no sense of humor.
US

 
divorce • military spouses • military families • Iraq war • returning troops • troops' families • Afghanistan war • separation

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