Air Force Divorce Rate on the Rise

Though support programs and other forms of intervention have been created to help struggling military families since 9/11, the divorce rate for families in the air force—as well as other branches of the military—continues to rise. According to the Defense Manpower Data Center, the rate overall is a full percentage point higher than it was at the time of the attacks, with 27,312 divorces total during the last fiscal year.

With 765,000 active married members of the armed forces, that adds up to a divorce rate of 3.6%, which is .2% higher than the previous year’s numbers. Department of Defense spokeswoman Air Force Major April Cunningham says that number would be even higher without the different marital assistance programs the government offers its service people.

She says that the government has marital strengthening and enrichment programs for couples to maintain strong families within the service. These programs are available to all branches of the military. “We believe these programs are instrumental in mitigating the stresses deployment places on marriages,” she says.

Some of the programs are of a religious nature, run by chaplains. Others have mental health officials or family service agents at the helm. Within the programs, couples can go through counseling, attend retreats, work through workshops and experience other programs that are geared at helping lessen the burden of separation.

Within the programs, couples learn what to expect during the absences, as well as preparation for possible problems upon reuniting. They also help provide healthcare services, housing, child care, and schooling.

Of course, these programs aren’t likely available to gay couples just yet. And surely civilians could benefit from such programs as well. Seeing as about 43% of marriages in the U.S. have resulted in divorce total, these programs may just be working.

That said, the military rate overall continues to climb, particularly after its involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Women in the military are more likely to divorce than men, with a 7.7% divorce rate compared to the 3% rate men serving in the armed forces have.

And some sources, such as Paul Rieckhoff of the Third Infantry Division, say that these numbers grossly underrepresent what’s really happening both overseas and at home. He says that marriages that collapse due to war are at least double the numbers depicted by the Department of Defense, and that every deployment saw new divorces.

The Pentagon itself even admits that it does not count actual divorces or divorced veterans.