For us those who have served in the in the Naval components of the military divorce has become a near punchline. Since the start of the seemingly endless 12-18 month deployments of the post-9\/11 Army I’m sure it’s much the same on that side of the house (if not before). People in the military often discuss their first marriages as a fairly regular phenomenon.<\/p>\n
So it comes as a bit of a surprise to me to read this headline in the Military Times: Air Force divorce rate highest in military.<\/a><\/p>\n The divorce rate among airmen today is almost 64 percent higher than in 2001, and is the highest in the military, according to a recent Defense Department report.<\/p>\n A decade ago, when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, the rate stood at 2.5 divorces per 100 marriages. In 2011, the number jumped to 3.9. The rate has climbed steadily in the past decade except in 2005 and in 2008, when it dropped ever so slightly, according to Air Force statistics obtained by Air Force Times.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Bizarre, no? But here’s where they lose me:<\/p>\n Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James Roy said that multiple deployments and the stress of two wars have contributed to the rise in Air Force divorces.<\/p>\n \u201cDeployments do take a toll on families. What we do is not easy, and separation can be difficult. It can also be a challenge when our Airmen transition home after their deployments,\u201d Roy said in a statement to Air Force Times.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n You know what? Bullshit.<\/p>\n There’s something going on in the force that extends beyond the regular stress of deployments. I’ll double down on that statement knowing the quality of life and “homesteading” efforts they’ve made over on the Blue Side. I gratefully recognize that the components of AFSOC gets worn the hell out. The reality, though, is that for the overwhelming majority of the Air Force is that they’re looking at four to six month deployments, per year, MAX. Absolute max. I’d be flat out shocked to see a significant demographic of non-SOCOM Airmen who were deployed more than a quarter of their time in.<\/p>\n