The men and women in the force have always been associated with violent tendencies and are accused of being inhuman. Whether this is a fallacy or not, it can only be clarified by those who have had the opportunity to interact with them. It has been argued in the past that even a soft person has the ability to change drastically for the worst once they join the army. But perhaps the whole blame cannot be laid entirely on them. The kind of training they undergo and the kind of life they lead make them change. As much as there are unique reasons that lead servicemen to divorce, the reasons are more or less the same as those leading civilians to separate.
The major reason causing military divorce is due to the fact that the military men and women don’t have enough time to spend with their families. Unlike other professions, a military person is supposed to report to their designation promptly. There is no room for questions or excuses in this field. As a result of this, the significant others prefer giving up on their marriages and doing it on their own.
Secondly, due to the fact of being away from each other for a significant amount of time, military relationships and marriages are full of infidelity. It has become a common phenomenon for soldiers deployed to keep the peace or any assignment of the sort to be accused of sexual crimes against native women.
As discussed earlier, due to their nature of training and the nature of the job, the military tends to be emotionally imbalanced with violent tendencies. On the other hand, most of their partners are civilians’ who, with time, cannot stand these violent tendencies. Most of the couples have separated, citing domestic violence.
In addition, other partners have cited a lack of job security as the major cause of divorce. This is especially so for the career-conscious people who have dreams of advancing in their careers. Due to the culture of moving from one location to the other, their spouses are constantly applying for jobs. With the current rate of unemployment, this becomes hard for them to secure jobs. With a passion for their career, some spouses prefer to end their marriages in order to achieve their professional dream.
Furthermore, this culture of constant movement is not conducive, especially for school-going children—these calls for changing schools every now and then with every deployment. Eventually, the child ends up being left a step behind by children their age. This has become a common worry with parents. It has scientifically been proven that children have some period of time before they adapt to their new environment. When this is done repeatedly, the children seem to lose focus and thus lag behind.
According to Welmer (par. 1), some partners divorce due to the fact that benefits are assured for divorcing spouses, especially if they have children. This guarantees them financial security and thus do not see the need to put up with a spouse who, after all, is rarely available when they need them the most.
As a result of this, coupled with the normal hardships of military life, the rate of death among servicemen and women has also increased. According to Waddington (par. 5), the army records the highest number of suicides at 20.2 per 100,000. This rate falls slightly higher than the suicide rate of civilians, which is 19.5 per 100,000 people.
In America, before the Afghanistan and Iraq wars started, the divorce rates were a little lower. This can be attributed to the fact that prewar marriages were not established with the full knowledge of wartime stresses, which were not part of the calculus of marital commitment. When mass recruitment started, wives and husbands were not prepared for the pain and lengthy separation from their loved ones.
The main reason as to why people get married is so as to provide companionship, and when this is not forthcoming, then it beats logic to continue staying in such a marriage. Due to the dreadful uncertainty and unending loneliness, many civilian spouses applied for divorce with the hope of living a normal life.
However, just like any other divorce, the effects weigh a toll on the children. No amount of explanation is enough to make them understand why their parents cannot stay together. Without careful explanation, the children might be left blaming one parent for being the cause of their predicament. More so, children whose parents have separated or worse still divorced develop withdrawal symptoms. Most young people who engage in criminal activities are cited to be those who hail from unstable families. To counter this, just like the divorcees, the children should be taken for counseling. This way, they might understand what is happening is necessarily not a one-person mistake.
Men and women both suffer a decline in mental health following a divorce. However, researchers have concluded that women are prone to suffer more than men. Some of the mental health indicators exhibited by divorced couples include depression, hostility, low self-esteem, and negative relations with others (Desai par. 8). Careful considerations must be put into place by spouses before they get married to ensure that they are ready to withstand any legitimate hardships. This way, the number of divorce cases caused by simple misunderstandings will be eliminated.
Works Cited
Desai, Amy.” Divorce: the effects of divorce.” 2001. Web.
Waddington, Michael. “Augusta GA military divorce lawyer: as suicide rise, Military intensifies prevention efforts.” 2009. Web.
Welmer. “The spearhead: military divorce rate still rising.” 2009. Web.