Military divorce rate keeps climbing; USAF worst, responds with Marriage Care

New stats

The divorce rate among airmen today is almost 64 percent higher than in 2001, and is the highest in the military, according to a recent Defense Department report.

A decade ago, when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, the rate stood at 2.5 divorces per 100 marriages. In 2011, the number jumped to 3.9. The rate has climbed steadily in the past decade except in 2005 and in 2008, when it dropped ever so slightly, according to Air Force statistics obtained by Air Force Times.

... the divorce rate military-wide is the highest it’s been since 1999; 30,000 marriages ended in divorce by the end of fiscal 2011.

Of those, 7,534 were in the Air Force. Most of them — 6,743 — were enlisted airmen, for a divorce rate of 4.6 percent.

When broken down by career field, women — both enlisted and officer — have higher divorce rates overall than their male counterparts. Of the 20 highest divorce rates by career field and gender in 2010, the most recent breakdown by career field available, only two belonged to the men: Male officers who were aides-de-camp saw a divorce rate of 4 per 100 marriages and enlisted men in the medical career field had a divorce rate of 3.92 per 100 marriages. They ranked 18th and 19th, respectively.

From "Air Force divorce rate highest in military" - Air Force Times.

Military-wide statistics were reported in an earlier story, "Military divorce rate rises slightly in 2011" - Air Force Times. Excerpts: 

... roughly one in every 27 married troops got a divorce in 2011. The percentage of marriages that ended in divorce during fiscal 2011 ticked up to 3.7 percent. The USMC rate was just slightly lower, 3.6. The officer corps divorce rate rose to 2.1 percent, up from 1.9 percent in 2010. The divorce rate for enlisted service members remained flat at 4.1.

The article on USAF divorce speculates about the reasons for divorces and for the increase, and then reports on the effects of it and what the Air Force is doing about it:

“When marriages are crumbling, it affects readiness, it affects unit morale, it affects unit cohesion,” he said. “When someone is going through a divorce, it makes it very hard for them to focus on their jobs. When an airman is going through a divorce, it affects all the airmen they work with.”

About 500 active-duty chaplains across the Air Force offer marriage counseling, but the Air Force is making a bigger push to keep marriages intact and healthy through Marriage Care retreats. Created three years ago and offered by the Chaplain Corps College, Marriage Care retreats were designed by Air Force chaplains specifically for airmen and their spouses. ... about 50 Air Force chaplains were trained to offer a Marriage Care retreat, and about 20 bases were involved in the effort. The Air Force is expanding the program as it trains more chaplains and puts more money into the program. ... in fiscal 2011 there were 31 weekend retreats, and more than 1,200 people, airmen and spouses, attended.

 

 

 

 

Comments

[study mode]

I wonder what it is about the air force specifically that leads to higher divorce rates, but that's certainly an interesting study. Perhaps it is because of the war climate. How do you expect someone to go home and maintain (work on) their relationship when they are working hard to just stay alive and protect their comrades daily?

[עו"ד גירושין]

that's so sad numbers... I hope it eill change. divorce are bad.

[Researching Divorce Rates]

Sort of an alarming study. Divorce can be the biggest distraction in daily life. The military are not the people we want distracted. Wow.

Thanks for posting
Ben

[Couples Counseling Jacksonville FL]

Sort of an escalating study. Divorce can be the greatest diversion in everyday life. The army are not the people we want preoccupied. Wow.

[Counseling Jacksonville Fl]

I wonder what it is about the air power particularly that causes higher separation and breakup prices, but that's certainly an exciting research.

[Alana]

Hi there,
This was a sobering post. One thing that stood out to me was the fact that more women than men were asking for a divorce. I know that serving in the army means being away from home, and having to deal with stressful situations. I think the marriage retreat program is a great idea, and that it should be made mandatory so every married serviceman and servicewoman can benefit from it.
Alana