Military Divorce Rates Steadily Climb Over the Past Decade

The divorce rates for members of our military have reached its highest level since 1999, and with troops coming home from Iraq, some feel the rate will continue to rise.

According to Military.com, researchers and military officials are noticing a steady increase in divorces among military personnel, something they have been expecting as years of repeated deployments are slowly wearing on marital relationships.

Since operations began in Afghanistan in 2001, the overall divorce rate was 2.6 but has risen to 3.7 in 2011, according to RAND Corp.

This is a slight increase over the rate if civilians seeking out divorce lawyers, which increased 3.5 percent in 2009 according to the most recent data provided by the Center for Disease Control. This rate declined slightly in 2010 and 2011.

In the military divorce rates varied a bit according to branch of service; the rate of divorce for the Army is 3.7 percent and the Navy at 3.6 percent, the highest since 2004. Splits in the Marines Corps remained constant at 3.8 percent.

It pains all people whether they are civilians or military personnel to have to hire and divorce lawyer and break their vows, but for some it is completely unavoidable. Military marriages are strained by the long absences and the divide that can come between each other over time.

The decision to hire a divorce attorney for dissolution is difficult especially for people who are defined by their loyalty and discipline like our heroes in the military.