An In-Depth Look at Army Divorce Rates
Raleigh, NC-The largest divorce firm in the state, Rosen Law Firm, says they're not surprised by the sharp increase among Army divorce rates and that more needs to be done to counsel the spouses left at home and those deployed overseas.
"There's a huge difference between typical divorces that we see on a daily basis and the military divorces that we're seeing," says Janet Fritts, a divorce attorney with Rosen Law Firm.
"The majority of civilian couples we deal with have stopped communicating somewhere during the marriage, but military couples have been communicating in more ways than ever before.
" Divorce experts say young military marriages, co-ed military units, financial decision-making, and the bureaucracy of being a military officer's spouse are just some of the factors contributing to the already established problems of spousal absence and combat stress among military families.
"Allocation of finances is a huge problem because so many military members have no control over their finances when they're overseas and their at-home spouses are spending the monthly checks the way they see fit, sometimes on their new love relationships," says Fritts.
With deployments being more frequent and for longer periods, infidelity is another reason why the Army divorce rates have sharply increased.
"A lot of times it's the women who remain on base to take care of the children and when her husband is gone for 6 months to a year, she may inevitably make new relationships with the men on the base," says Fritts.
Military couples are usually far away from their families and they are not reminded of their marriage vows because they are so isolated on base or overseas.
Fritts also explains the growing co-ed military units are not helping either as more military members are establishing relationships with the opposite sex during wartime.
Statistics show the largest increase recently in Army divorce rates are among officers, a position which Fritts describes as having an enormous responsibility.
Coupled with the weight of being an officer, the pressure of being a military officer's spouse also adds to the problem.
"When they're left by themselves on the military base once their spouse deploys, a lot of spouses stop playing the game of being nice to the other military officer's spouses," Fritts explains.
"Once the deployed spouse returns there's a lot of disagreement on the roles played and the bureaucracy of military officers and their spouses.
"
"There's a huge difference between typical divorces that we see on a daily basis and the military divorces that we're seeing," says Janet Fritts, a divorce attorney with Rosen Law Firm.
"The majority of civilian couples we deal with have stopped communicating somewhere during the marriage, but military couples have been communicating in more ways than ever before.
" Divorce experts say young military marriages, co-ed military units, financial decision-making, and the bureaucracy of being a military officer's spouse are just some of the factors contributing to the already established problems of spousal absence and combat stress among military families.
"Allocation of finances is a huge problem because so many military members have no control over their finances when they're overseas and their at-home spouses are spending the monthly checks the way they see fit, sometimes on their new love relationships," says Fritts.
With deployments being more frequent and for longer periods, infidelity is another reason why the Army divorce rates have sharply increased.
"A lot of times it's the women who remain on base to take care of the children and when her husband is gone for 6 months to a year, she may inevitably make new relationships with the men on the base," says Fritts.
Military couples are usually far away from their families and they are not reminded of their marriage vows because they are so isolated on base or overseas.
Fritts also explains the growing co-ed military units are not helping either as more military members are establishing relationships with the opposite sex during wartime.
Statistics show the largest increase recently in Army divorce rates are among officers, a position which Fritts describes as having an enormous responsibility.
Coupled with the weight of being an officer, the pressure of being a military officer's spouse also adds to the problem.
"When they're left by themselves on the military base once their spouse deploys, a lot of spouses stop playing the game of being nice to the other military officer's spouses," Fritts explains.
"Once the deployed spouse returns there's a lot of disagreement on the roles played and the bureaucracy of military officers and their spouses.
"
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