On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Military Family Law on Thursday, September 13, 2012.
Military deployments are tough on a family. And while many tend to think that everything is fine once the two spouses are reunited, the truth is that often couples have a hard time readjusting to each other after a deployment.
In light of the fact that military divorce rates are the highest since 1999, the U.S. Navy has started to address some of the biggest stressors on military families.
One of the biggest challenges is not necessarily how to deal with being apart when one spouse is deployed, but rather how to deal with being together once that spouse returns.
Part of the problem is how to reconnect and how to incorporate the previously deployed spouse back into the family.
“They don’t really take me in right away,” one husband said about his family upon his return from deployment. “Things I was doing before deployment, now she is doing. And if I start doing them, it’s not the way it was done so now I am a hindrance instead of a help.”
His wife also agrees that it’s difficult as each spouse doesn’t know what the other was going through during their time apart. Add children into the mix — who may or may not recognize their father — and the entire family situation gets even more emotional.
This is why the U.S. Navy is hopeful that couples classes will help to strengthen a husband and wife’s bond.
Of course, classes or not, in many cases couples will go the route of divorce. However, since at least one spouse is in the military, divorce can present a whole new set of complications. This is why it’s important to talk with an attorney who has experience handling military family law cases.
Source: NBC, “Navy Pushes Resources Amid Rising Military Divorce Rate,” Mark Mullen, Sept. 11, 2012
