Military families in Washington and across the country have a divorce rate that has remained high. There are a number of reasons for this. Primarily, the uncertainty and stress that are a constant part of military life put marriages under strain. This is an unfortunate byproduct of the sacrifice that service members and their families make.
Moves and deployments can impact a marriage
Being in the military means that families must move often around the country and world. Military spouses may need to keep finding a new jobs. Long absences also impact the marriage when a soldier is deployed overseas. Many military marriages remain strong, but this strain can impact even the healthiest marriage. Uncertainty and sacrifice are parts of military life, and this can be hard to sustain over the course of a marriage.
Military resources have not significantly lowered the divorce rate
Service members and their families have resources from the military, but this has not brought down the overall divorce rate. Roughly 1 in 33 military marriages will end in a given year. Female service members have divorce rates far higher than men. Overall, the military divorce rate is slightly higher than the national average although non-military divorces have declined slightly in recent years. The hope is that a reduction in the number of overseas deployments can lower the divorce rate, but that is not showing up in the numbers thus far.
Not only do military marriages have the usual challenges that come with any union of two people, but they also have the unique difficulties that a life of service and sacrifice can impose. Military families should avail themselves of all their support options to strengthen their marriage and family life.