Stop the war.
While
U.S. casualties steadily mount in Iraq, another toll is rising rapidly
on the home front: The Army's divorce rate has soared in the past three
years, most notably for officers, as longer and more frequent war zone
deployments place extra strain on couples. "We've seen nothing like
this before," said Col. Glen Bloomstrom, a chaplain who oversees
family-support programs....
Between 2001 and 2004, divorces
among active-duty Army officers and enlisted personnel nearly doubled,
from 5,658 to 10,477, even though total troop strength remained
stable....
Martha Rudd, an Army spokeswoman, attributed the
recent surge in divorces to the stress and uncertainty caused by a
stepped-up deployment cycle. "An awful lot of people are going back to
Iraq for a second tour — that must be hard to take," she said. "You can
get through one tour, but then you think, 'Please, no more.'"...
Sylvia
Kidd, director of family programs for the private Association of the
U.S. Army, urges military couples to seek help when needed but fears
many spouses are too isolated....Kidd said the divorce problem could
get even worse, as long the campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan and
elsewhere require frequent deployments. "All kinds of couples have
problems, but they don't necessarily break up," Kidd said. "When you
add the additional stress of these separations, it's the straw that
breaks the camel's back."
