For the 2008 US Presidential election, one of the major topics was the wars taking place in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The casualty rate for the United States has already gone over 4,000. With that said, the fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq has been taking their toll on the United States military troops already deployed.
Unfortunately, it seems that the ongoing wars have been taking its toll on military marriages. The United States Army and the United States Marine Corps seem to be suffering through most of the divorces. So far, the US Department of Defense has said that the divorce rate is at least 3.5 percent.
It is estimated that the US Army is suffering through a little over ten thousand divorces while the US Marine Corps is suffering a little over three thousand divorces.
“With increasing demands placed on Army families and soldiers – including frequent deployments and relocations – intimate relationships are tested,” Army spokesman Paul Boyce had explained.
However, the military leadership is not blind to the divorce rates. According to Colonel Dave Lapan, a spokesman for the USMC, it is paying very close and serious attention to the divorce rate of such marriages.
According to Paul Rieckhoff of the group known as Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, it is no surprise that the divorce rates of military marriages have spiked up. However, it is one of several veterans groups that are not sure if the figures from the Pentagon have been underestimated.
So far, none of those groups were able to give their own estimates of the divorces.
But the US Defense Department insists that it is handling and tackling the problem. Luckily, there are services available to married couples. If both spouses believe the marriage can be saved, they can take advantage of such programs.
Still, the figures of divorces amongst married couples in the US military are not yet concrete. But, the military is already taking action.
Overall, this could be added to the challenges on both a national and international level for United States President-elect Barack Obama, who will take office as the 44th US President on January 20, 2009.
The rate of divorces in the US military as the result of fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq could potentially prove to be a possible challenge that Obama and his administration would have to tackle.