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Divorce Rate Among Afghanistan, Iraq War Vets Increases by 42 Percent

  • Religion Today Religious persecution, missions, Christianity around the world
  • Updated Oct 05, 2012

January 7, 2012

The divorce rate among military couples has increased 42 percent throughout the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, according to new research by Family Life, the Christian Post reports. The organization says the first 90 days after deployment are the most critical for military marriages: "That window is the proven time frame during which people develop habits and set the tone for the future of their marriage," said Dennis Rainey of Family Life. It's critical for military couples to establish healthy habits quickly as they struggle to reconnect and restructure their families." As veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan -- who are often very young -- struggle to adjust back to civilian life, they are also faced with the issues of renegotiating roles with spouses and realizing that they have both changed during deployment. "Civilians often don't understand that, though the battle overseas may be over, our troops must now come home and fight for their marriages," Air Force wife Valerie Gaff of Family Life said.