Why do military marriages fail

This was particularly tough on military marriages formed prior to the Sept. As the war in Iraq grew more intense, deployments, particularly in the Army, grew longer and more frequent, with less time spent at home. The overall divorce rate in the military increased gradually from 2. The rate dipped slightly last year.

The study reported that the longer the deployment — 12 months versus 18 months, for example — the greater the risk of divorce. The National Military Family Association.

Military Life: Spouse and Family. After Deployment: Families and Friendship. Bushatz, A. Military divorce rate hits lowest level in 10 years. Karney, B. Comparing marital status and divorce status in civilian and military populations. Journal of Family Issues, 33 12 , Negrusa, S. Journal of Population Economics, 27, Philpott, T. Military marriages show a surprising level of resilience.

Pollard, M. RAND Corporation. Lengthy military deployments increase divorce risk for U. Although there are some similarities between civilian and military lifestyles, there are as many differences that can affect the marriage relationship.

In civilian marriages, couples normally put his or her marriage first in their lives, above work and all else. In military marriages, however, this is not always possible since duty comes first. Everything else is secondary. Needless to say, this requires a patient and understanding spouse.

Even then, making the spouses' relationship secondary puts an additional strain on a military marriage. The marriages of U. Armed Forces service members often fail because of infidelity on the part of one or both spouses. There are always stories of lonely military wives hanging out at clubs and cheating on husbands who are deployed.

Likewise, there are plenty of stories about military husbands who have affairs while deployed overseas or at home. Infidelity is an issue for military marriages just as it is for civilian marriages. Whether it occurs more in the military is subject to debate. Infidelity will likely continue to be one of the leading causes of divorce for all marriages. Every day, military couples face the fear of one spouse being injured or killed when deployed overseas.