Many people in Clarksville, Tennessee, will agree that maintaining a happy married life, while serving in the military, is often difficult. As a result, many service members’ marriages end up in a military divorce. In fact, at one point, the divorce rates among military members raised many eyebrows in the country. That was the time period when many American soldiers were in active deployment in various parts of the world. However, the situation has changed since then and divorce rates released recently tell a different story.
According to recent news, the Defense Department has reported that divorce rates in the military for the year 2014 were 3.1 percent among officers and enlisted personnel. That is the lowest figure since 2005, when the military divorce rate was three percent. The most recent figure is significantly lower than the 3.7 percent in 2011, which was the year with the highest divorce rate in the past decade. Divorce rates in 2001, during the initial days of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, were 2.6 percent.
One of the major reasons for the dip in the divorce rate is the smaller number of divorces among women in the military. In 2011, the divorce rate among women of all ranks in the military was eight percent while in 2014, that figure stood at 6.5 percent. The largest decline was among female Marines, who reported a divorce rate of 6.2 percent against the 9.5 percent in 2011. The change among male service members was smaller. In 2014, the divorce rate among males decreased by 0.3 percent against 2013 and 0.5 percent against 2011.
While declining divorce rates may be encouraging for many traditionalists, the truth remains that divorce is sometimes the wisest choice for military members and their civilian spouses who are unable to resolve differences between them because a turbulent marriage can cause more harm than good, especially if there are children involved in the dispute. However, a military divorce involves much more complex than a civilian divorce and; therefore, people need to understand their legal rights.
Source: Military.com, “Military Divorce Rate Hits Lowest Level in 10 Years,” Amy Bushatz, Feb. 25, 2015
