Jennifer Barnhill, a columnist for Military.com, discusses the impact of military life on marriages. She emphasizes the challenges military families face, such as increased risks of divorce, the complications of handling divorces during service, the struggle of relocation, and the issues encountered by couples with children. Barnhill also highlights the role gender plays in military divorces, with female service members being at a higher risk of divorce.
Key Points:
- Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that military personnel have the highest divorce rates among all professions, at roughly 4.8%, despite the national divorce rate falling under 3%.
- Divorces can become more complicated for military families, especially when a spouse is required to relocate during the process. In the U.S, the military may not cover the moving expenses, and divorce settlements may not always compensate for these costs.
- Couples with children often experience more complexities in the divorce process due to the military parent’s commitments and the cost of maintaining custody agreements.
- The risk of divorce in military families is higher for enlisted families and women. Younger couples have higher divorce rates, and female service members, particularly those married to civilian male partners, are more likely to divorce.
- The military lifestyle, with elements such as geographical separation, deployments, and stress, can increase the risk of divorce. Research found that deployments, especially longer or more dangerous ones, significantly raise the chances of divorce, and this impact is higher for female service members.
Continue reading at https://www.military.com/daily-news/opinions/2023/06/22/why-divorce-particularly-hard-military-families.html
