As war deployments increase, so does Army's divorce rate

[bluedog]

*'s war is blowing up the moral family myth all to hell........

As war deployments increase, so does Army's divorce rate
By Associated Press
Published June 30, 2005

NEW YORK - While U.S. casualties steadily mount in Iraq, another toll is rising rapidly on the home front: The Army's divorce rate has soared in the past three years, most notably for officers, as longer and more frequent war zone deployments place strain on couples.

"We've seen nothing like this before," said Col. Glen Bloomstrom, a chaplain who oversees family-support programs. "It indicates the amount of stress on couples, on families, as the Army conducts the global war on terrorism."

From 2001 to 2004, divorces among active-duty Army officers and enlisted personnel nearly doubled, from 5,658 to 10,477, even though total troop strength remained stable. In 2002, the divorce rate among married officers was 1.9 percent - 1,060 divorces of 54,542 marriages; by 2004, the rate had tripled to 6 percent, with 3,325 divorces of 55,550 marriages.

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/06/30/Worldandnation/As_war_deployments_in.shtml

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. "Hey, if the Army wanted you to have a spouse,

we'd have issued you one!"