Marriage and family -- a hidden casualty of war

Marriage and family -- a hidden casualty of war
By Major General Mastin M. Robeson, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)
Published June 01, 2012
FoxNews.com

As we celebrated Memorial Day last weekend and remembered those who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom, many Americans spent the day with their families and friends, perhaps at a backyard barbecue or by a lake or the seashore. For others, the day was one of sadness as people across the country visited cemeteries and honored loved ones laid to rest. But there are those in our military who were, and are, grieving from a different kind of loss, a hidden casualty of war: military marriages.

I saw a lot of family heartache during my 34 years of service in the United States Marine Corps, but the last 10 years have proven to be the most difficult on military marriages and families.

Statistics from the Department of Defense report that since the start of operations in Afghanistan in 2001, the military divorce rate has continued to rise. Last year alone, the marriages of some 30,000 military personnel ended in divorce (USA Today, December 2011).

This has been the longest war in America’s history. We have been hugely successful at preparing our forces for a dynamic battlefield, protecting the individual warrior from an array of complex threats, and providing for the spouse and family left behind.

However, the more subtle challenge that cries for attention is the ever-mounting pressure on the marriages of our military personnel. Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) are not new to the battlefield, but multiple lengthy deployments are increasing their impact.

read more here