• 10
  • March
    2011

It seems that every few months, the Department of Defense will issue updated statistics on the relatively high rate of divorce among military personnel. This high divorce rate is not altogether surprising given the relatively large number of stressors that military couples are forced to cope with on a daily basis, including the looming prospect of deployment, extended periods of separation and near-constant worry about the welfare of their spouse.

Interestingly, the latest figures from the Pentagon differ slightly in that they provide more insight into the divorce rate among female military personnel, many of whom are currently playing a vital role in operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq. (The Department of Defense (DOD) estimates that a total of 220,000 women have served in these two military theatres.)

According to DOD statistics from 2010,

  • 7.8 percent of female military personnel secured a divorce in 2010 (only 3 percent of male military personnel secured a divorce)
  • 9 percent of enlisted female military personnel secured a divorce in 2010 (slightly over 3 percent of enlisted male military personnel secured a divorce)

While the reasons mentioned above (lengthy separation, constant worry, etc.) likely cause increased marital strife for female military personnel, there may an additional reason why their rate of divorce is more than double that of their male military counterparts.

Some experts point to increased societal pressures.

"It's a strange situation, where there's a fair amount of equality in terms of their military roles, but as the military increasingly treats women the same as it treats men in terms of their work expectations, however, society still expects them to fulfill their family roles. And that's not equally balanced between men and women," said David Segal, director of the Center for Research on Military Organization at the University of Maryland.

Fortunately, each military branch has recognized the problem of divorce among both men and women, and now offers programs designed to help strengthen marriages. For example, the Army's "Strong Bonds" program provides counseling to married couples.

Stay tuned for developments from our Denver divorce blog ...

If you would like to learn more about divorce or divorce-related issues, you should strongly consider speaking with an experienced legal professional.

This post is provided for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice.

Related Resources:

Female GIs struggle with higher rate of divorce (Google News)