New Stats Show Military Divorce Rate for 2011 Highest in Over a Decade

More and more service member marriages are ending. Learn about this trend and the complex legal issues surrounding military divorces.
December 31, 2011

Nearly 30,000 military marriages ended in fiscal year 2011, according to Pentagon data released in December. The military divorce rate in 2011 was 3.7 percent, up more than a full percentage point over the last ten years.

Military divorce rates have not been this high since 1999. Many troops returning from Iraq, Afghanistan and staging areas overseas arrive to a broken home, with little more than the services of California military divorce attorneys to help ease their transition back into single life.
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Unlike military divorce numbers, in the civilian world, divorce rates have been declining since 2000. In 2009, the latest year for which CDC data is available, the civilian divorce rate was 3.5 percent.

Why the disparity between civilian and military divorce trends? Experts are cautious to come to pinpoint definite conclusions without sufficient study. But, there is no doubt that the rigors of military life, especially the repeated deployments seen in recent years, can lead to tension in a romantic relationship.